LONDON–Lloyds Banking Group has pledged a further £1 million to support credit unions across the U.K. through its Credit Union Development Fund.
The Credit Union Development Fund has awarded 13 London-based credit unions with almost half a million pounds to support members across the region to enable them to provide much-needed responsible lending to local people and organizations, the bank said.
The Fund, run in partnership with the Credit Union Foundation, is designed to strengthen the financial position of credit unions and has now provided more than £5m in funding to U.K. credit unions to date.
London Plus Credit Union, which operates in six London boroughs, was awarded £40,000 in February this year by Lloyds Banking Group. The money will help to grow its membership from 6,000 to 10,000 in the next five years, including expanding their digital services, making their services accessible to more people.
“There are over 100,000 households in our boroughs we serve facing severe income, health and housing deprivation. Supporting the financially excluded is a vital part of what we do,” London Plus CEO Cheryl Gale said,
‘Struggle to Access Funding’
“Generally, credit unions struggle to access funding as we don’t have a charitable status. Lloyds Banking Group has done an amazing job recognizing what we do, and that we need to grow and support even more local people,” Gate said. “As other funding options for credit unions are particularly slim, their funding has been transformational for the sector. At London Plus Credit Union we’re really looking forward to building and developing our online presence to make our service more accessible for those that need it the most.”
Lloyds Banking Group Ambassador for London, Ed Thurman added, “We’re committed to helping Britain prosper by supporting organizations like London Plus Credit Union to expand and serve its growing member base. London is the most expensive city in Europe to rent in, and groups like this make a valuable contribution to communities struggling to find the support they need to pay the bills every week.”