We want everyone to be able to access the financial products and services they need throughout their life. In tough times many people can turn to financial safety nets like savings, credit cards or an overdraft at affordable rates. But for the millions of people in financially vulnerable circumstances these options are often unfairly out of reach.
Today there are 14.2 million people with low financial resilience. That’s more than a quarter of all adults in the UK – a number that’s risen by 3.5 million people since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
What do we mean by financially vulnerable circumstances?
Essentially, we define vulnerability in the same terms as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), where a vulnerable customer is someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm.
Everyone is at risk of becoming vulnerable at some point during their lives. This risk is increased by characteristics of vulnerability related to four keys drivers:
Health
this could be ongoing physical or mental health issues for you or loved ones, sudden health needs or simply ageing ailments that affect ability to carry out day to day tasks
Life events
anything from birth and bereavement to a relationship breakdown or losing your job
Resilience
low ability to cope with financial or emotional shocks, including lack of savings and insurance safety nets or low emotional resilience
Capability
this spans financial knowledge, your ability to pay for things, future planning, environmental and income factors
Evidence suggests that those in the most vulnerable circumstances are impacted by each of these drivers. And that these drivers will shape customers’ needs over the whole of their financial lives.
Who we serve
Millions of people are living with the daily realities of financial exclusion. Those in financially vulnerable circumstances aren’t spread evenly across the country – they are concentrated in some of the most deprived regions, hardest hit by the growing cost of living crisis and facing dwindling options as traditional finance providers struggle or exit the market altogether.
While we’re all capable of becoming financially vulnerable, our research shows that certain circumstances make some people more likely to face financial exclusion*:
20%
The majority of the people we support live in the most deprived 20% of areas of the country, based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation
35%
35% are lone parents with dependent children, compared to 9% of the overall UK population
58%
58% are social housing tenants, compared to 17% of the overall population in England
The Covid-19 pandemic has delivered uneven outcomes too. While many have been able to save more, lots of families have seen their savings eroded. Since March 2020, 11m people have accumulated £25b of debt to pay for essentials.*
Those who can least afford it have been hit the hardest – women, people from certain minority and ethnic communities and those already in financially vulnerable circumstances.
Financial exclusion and low financial resilience are key barriers to opportunity. Yet with access to fair and affordable financial products and services, everyday life events or financial shocks can be managed.
Our role is to level up financial inclusion. We want to see well designed financial products and services that better respond to people’s needs and support their financial wellbeing.
We’ve prioritised three key areas for our work:
Expanding the provision of affordable credit
Partnering with banks and financial services providers to increase provision of services
Developing new products and services to address market gaps
Everything we do is focused on whether we’re changing the financial services system for the better – so that the whole sector provides financially inclusive products and services in a sustainable way.
Who we are
We are a passionate team of ex-financial folk, social sector investors, social and not for profit activists, ex-government bodies, media and researchers who are all now specialists in financial inclusion. Together we share a passion for financial inclusion and a unified vision to deliver our mission:
Our vision
Is a society where the long term financial wellbeing of all people is supported by a fair and accessible financial services sector.
Our mission
Is to increase the financial resilience and wellbeing of people in vulnerable circumstances by increasing the availability of fair and accessible financial products and services.
How were we founded
We were founded in 2019 through the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to tackle the issue of financial inclusion.
Our funding comes from The Dormant Assets Scheme. The scheme is led by the financial industry and backed by the UK government. This makes it possible for money in dormant bank and building society accounts to be used to help good causes.
While our funding is for England, we seek to collaborate across all four nations where possible.
Sacha has a background in driving purpose led change in business through her previous roles as CEO at Grant Thornton and Chair of Access Accountancy. She has extensive experience of working with businesses, government and civil society to address key systemic issues.
Sacha is on the Levelling Up Advisory Council, is a non-executive Director at Leapfrog Investments and has recently been appointed as Chair of the Commission on Healthier Working Lives set up by the Health Foundation.
Operations
Becky Claydon >
Director of People
Becky Claydon
Claire Groom >
Executive Assistant
Claire Groom
Claire is Executive Assistant to the CEO and leadership team, responsible for supporting the CEO in all aspects of her role helping to manage time, correspondence, tasks and priorities and planning and coordinating meetings including multi stakeholder meetings. Claire is also responsible for coordinating organisation wide events, both internal and external, and supports with recruitment and onboarding.
Monica Mitchell-Dale >
Senior Finance and Operations Officer
Monica Mitchell-Dale
Monica is our Finance and Operations Senior Officer responsible for financial and operationalactivities within the team. From processing invoices to monthly reporting with one hat andoverseeing and managing general office maintenance and repairs with another.Outside of Fair4All Finance Monica is an Early Intervention Coach in a local primary school.
Premila Sattianayagam >
Director of Finance and Operations
Premila Sattianayagam
Funding, finance and investment
Ania Soleimani >
Investment Associate
Ania Soleimani
Craig Pennington >
Associate Director – Investments
Craig Pennington
Craig is our Associate Director – Investments, responsible for managing our investments, maintaining relationships with co-investors and partnering with mainstream finance with the aim of attracting more investment capital to community finance. Outside of Fair4All Finance Craig is a mentor for social enterprises based in London.
Holly Piper >
Director of Funding and Investment
Holly Piper
Holly Piper is our Investment Director. Holly is responsible for funding and investments to expand the provision of affordable credit. This includes £38m+ social investments to scale up social lenders, resilience grants to community finance providers, and working with banks and other funders to increase the available funding. Previously Holly was Head of CAF Venturesome, one of the most active social investment funds in the UK, making hundreds of affordable social investments to a wide range of social organisations. Outside of work, Holly enjoys spending time with her young sons and exuberant dog.
Naheed Hassan >
Investment Associate
Naheed Hassan
Naheed is an Investment Associate responsible for managing and supporting portfolio managementfor a small number of investments in community finance providers. He is also involved in due diligence exercises for new, incoming investment proposals. Naheed comes from a background in Asset Management, having spent 7 years working in portfolio management with boutiques in the City.
Outside of work, he volunteers with an organisation providing mentoring to young adults who have been in care, is an avid painter and watches far too many films.
Nard Duin >
Investment Manager
Nard Duin
Nard is an investment associateresponsible for managing a small portfolio of investments and performing due diligence on potential investments. He maintains relationships current investees on their performance, reviews investment proposals, and leads investment-related projects across the team. Outside of Fair4All Finance, Nard volunteers at a local foodbank and enjoys playing field hockey.
Usama Yusuf >
Investment Associate
Usama Yusuf
Vince Cox >
Community Finance Engagement Manager
Vince Cox
Vince our is our Community Finance Engagement lead responsible for being our main point of contact for all the Credit Unions and CDFIs we can work with. These relationships can be with both those we already work closely with and more importantly those who we do not. Vince joined in September 2021 from Aviva where he gained a wealth of experience in marketing, proposition development and relationship management. Having worked in both the Life and General insurance sides of the business understands financial services from several lenses. Away from work Vince’s main passion is all things cricket – playing, coaching and umpiring.
Growth and development
Andy Nelson >
On Purpose Associate
Andy Nelson
Andy is our On-Purpose associate on a six month secondment to support the operations and management of the marketing and PR efforts that support the broad credit union sector. Outside of Fair4All Finance, Andy is a surfer, a photographer and a father of two young daughters.
Diane Burridge >
Community Finance, Propositions and Segmentation Lead
Diane Burridge
Diane is our Community Finance Propositions and Segmentation lead focusing on specific programmes, relationships, and propositions to increase access to the delivery of products and services, to meet the needs of customers in financially vulnerable circumstances. Diane is a trustee of the Centre for Responsible Credit, and a Senior Fellow at the Finance Innovation Lab.
Jonathan Booth (JB) >
Head of Technology Programmes
Jonathan Booth (JB)
Jonathan is our Head of Technology Programmes and is responsible for technology aspects of the many programmes of work with Affordable Finance Providers and Technology Vendors. Jonathan has a background in mainstream Financial IT and is specifically interested in how the advantages of up-to-date financial technology can be made available to the Community Finance sector in a cost-effective way.Outside of Fair4All Finance Jonathan is a keen gardener and runs and allotment.
Jonathan Turner >
Technology Strategy and Innovations Lead
Jonathan Turner
Kate Pender >
Deputy CEO
Kate Pender
Laura Kaye >
Programme Manager – Growth and Development
Laura Kaye
Laura is a Programme Manager in our Growth and Development team. She is primarily focused on our leadership learning programme for leaders within the community finance sector which aims to help grow the sector’s capabilities. Laura joined Fair4All Finance through the On Purpose programme. Outside of work, she enjoys yoga, running and getting lost in a book.
Matt Jenkins >
On Purpose Associate
Matt Jenkins
Matt is an On Purpose Associate on a six month secondment supporting our Growth & Development team’s pilot programmes to develop the market and ensure that people in vulnerable circumstances can access affordable and inclusive financial solutions, such as Consolidation Loans and No Interest Loans.In his spare time, Matt plays competitive tennis and is a keen hiker and birder and an electronic music aficionado.
Tamar Jokhadze >
Programme Manager, Growth and Development (Maternity leave)
Tamar Jokhadze
Tanya Seeley >
Associate Director Commercial
Tanya Seeley
Marketing, consumer insights and propositions
Elle Crossley >
Reporting and Insights Analyst
Elle Crossley
Elle is our Reporting and Insights Analyst, working predominantly on the NILS pilot scheme. She works alongside NILS lenders to collect their data on the loans issued through the pilot, before analysing and reporting the findings to wider stakeholders. Elle also supports across the wider organisation on all things data and statistics. Outside of work, Elle is passionate about mental health and is training towards a counselling qualification.
Ellie Suckling >
Consumer Insights Manager
Ellie Suckling
Ellie is our Consumer Insights Manager, making sure we get the most out of our analytics and ensuring they are used to develop inclusive products and services for customers in financially vulnerable circumstances. This includes a deep understanding of the Fair4All Finance’s consumer segments. Outside of work, she is happiest in nature, or hanging out with animals
Emma Salisbury >
Programme Delivery Manager
Emma Salisbury
Laura Crow >
Senior Programme Manager, Propositions
Laura Crow
Laura is one of our Senior Proposition Managers working to help financial service providers understand our segments and utilise her background in product development to support user-centred design techniques in building products addressing customer needs. She is particularly interested in how alternative data can support product pathways for vulnerable customers. For 15 years Laura worked in financial services in Africa, which ties in with her passion for travel and trying new cuisines.
Lauren Peel >
Director of Marketing, Consumer Insights and Propositions
Lauren Peel
Lauren is Director of Marketing, Consumer Insights and Propositions. She’s responsible for ensuring that our partners, our team and the financial services sector understand the needs of people in financially vulnerable circumstances, and are designing and delivering solutions propositions that work for them. Lauren’s team are responsible for Fair4All Finance’s segmentation model. Lauren is also one of our key spokespeople for consumer activity, raising awareness of providers and propositions that improve financial resilience.
Lauren is a practising coach, a proud Yorkshire lass, and has been an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community for the last decade.
Systems change and impact
Ayesha Begum >
Senior Manager, Strategy and Impact
Ayesha Begum
Diana Kamil >
Head of Engagement
Diana Kamil
Fionn Sharpe >
Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager
Fionn Sharpe
Fionn (pronounced “finn“) is our Policy Manager. His work is focused on developing a policy and regulatory environment that supports access to fair and affordable financial products for excluded customers. Before joining the team as one of Fair4All Finance’s first employees in 2019, he worked in policy, comms and public affairs at the Money and Pensions Service and Toynbee Hall.
Jake Attfield >
Head of Strategy
Jake Attfield
Jake is a Senior Programme Manager and splits his time between leading strategic projects and engaging and convening stakeholders to support the Financial Inclusion Plan and to do more to address the underlying issues that drive exclusion.
Outside of work, Jake volunteers at a shelter for the homeless, is a taxi driver for two teenage daughters, runs an artisan jam business and keeps active by running, swimming, and playing tennis. But not all at the same time.
James Corke >
Strategic Communications Senior Manager
James Corke
Jodie Cross >
Corporate Impact and Engagement Manager
Jodie Cross
Jodie is our Corporate Engagement and Impact Manager. She works closely with our mainstream commercial partners, leveragingexpertiseacross sectors, bringing people together to design great products and services that meet the needs of financially vulnerable people. Drawing on her time working in mental health, housing and human rights, Jodie works closely with our consumer insights and propositions team, supporting our banking partners to define the barriers through our segmentation model and pilot new proposition using lived–experience design. Outside of work, Jodie plays drums in a Samba Band.
Max Holloway >
Content and Communications Associate
Max Holloway
Max is our Content and Communications Associate, responsible for sharing our important work with the wider community. Whetherit’s working on our research papers, creating newsletters, writing articles, ormaintaining our social channels, Max works across the organisation to make sure our communications are accessible and easy to understand. Outside of Fair4All Finance Max is a Borough Councillor.
Niall Alexander >
Markets and Consumer Insights Manager
Niall Alexander
Niall is our Markets and Consumer Insights Manager. He reads lots of reports and pieces together a view on what might be happening for lenders and borrowers. He has been doing work on affordable credit and why it can be helpful for low-income households to have access to it, for a long time. He looks at the data on lending and declines across the high-cost credit market and community finance, which means he gets involved across many of our work streams including our illegal moneylending research, He is a Director of Right Way Credit Union, and the Centre for Responsible Credit. Within the team, he lives the furthest away from London, in Scotland.
Sarah Porretta >
Deputy CEO
Sarah Porretta
Selma Elgaziari >
Head of Policy and Public Affairs (Secondee)
Selma Elgaziari
Temi Odesanya >
Community Engagement Manager
Temi Odesanya
Temi is our Community Engagement Manager. She works on building relationships and partnering with social impact and non-profit organisations to find out more about the challenges facing people in vulnerable circumstances and share how improving financial inclusion can improve their wellbeing. Temi is also the first point of contact for housing associations who would like to partner with community finance providers and participate in our no-interest loan scheme pilot and consolidation loans programme to support their tenants. Temi is currently a Trustee of the Fat Beehive Foundation.
Tom Lake >
Director of Policy and Strategy (Sabbatical)
Tom Lake
Our Board
Faith Reynolds >
Non-executive Director
Faith Reynolds
Faith is a consumer finance expert and employed as Consumer Lead at Amplified Global. She is a non-executive director at the Payment Systems Regulator and until recently was the Independent Consumer Representative on the Open Banking Implementation Entity Steering Group. She is also a non-executive director for the Current Account Switch Service and was previously a member of the FCA’s Financial Services Consumer Panel, as the lead for technology and innovation.
Fozia Irfan OBE >
Non-executive Director
Fozia Irfan OBE
Fozia is Director of Children and Young People at BBC Children in Need, the Chair of 360giving and a Board member of Alliance Magazine. Fozia was the founder of the DEI coalition of funders, focused on implementing more equitable practices in grantmaking and a visiting lecturer at Bayes Business School on the Master programme. Fozia is on the Board of Advisors of International Public Policy Observatory and is also a Churchill Fellow and a Leadership Fellow at St Georges, Windsor.
Ingrid Kukuljan >
Non-executive Director
Ingrid Kukuljan
Ingrid is Head of Impact and Sustainable Investing at Federated Hermes and is responsible for the management of portfolios within the strategy. She has 25 years’ experience in finance across asset management, capital markets and venture capital.
James Invine >
Non-executive Director
James Invine
James is a sell-side equity analyst at Societe Generale. His focus is the banking sector and its various commercial, regulatory and macroeconomic drivers. He is also a trustee at The Limehouse Project and a non-executive director of Thrive Homes, a housing association.
Jennifer Rademaker >
Non-executive Director
Jennifer Rademaker
Jennifer leads Global Customer Delivery at Mastercard. She brings over 30 years of financial services experience, including leading financial inclusion initiatives at scale in developed and developing markets. Before Mastercard, Jennifer was the Chief Credit Officer at a microlender in South Africa, where she authored a comic book series for children on good financial habits. Jennifer is committed to an inclusive workforce and has been recognised for her advocacy in advancing women, ethnic minorities and the LGBT community. Jennifer is also the Chair of Fine Cell Work, a prison rehabilitation charity and social enterprise, and a non-executive director at ICM Mobility Group and Snapper.
Joanna Elson CBE >
Non-executive Director
Joanna Elson CBE
Joanna is Chief Executive of the Money Advice Trust and was previously Executive Director at the British Bankers’ Association. She is also a director of UK Finance representing vulnerable consumers, Chair of the Advisory Panel at Birmingham University’s Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management and Vice Chair of the Friends Provident Foundation and a Chartered Director.
Linda Stevens >
Company Secretary
Linda Stevens
Linda worked with PwC for 27 years and has extensive experience of leading and working with dynamic, complex and diverse leadership teams, developing strategies for successful business performance. A chartered accountant and chartered tax professional with an MBA, Linda is also a Parish Councillor and a Trustee for St Michaels Hospice, Hastings and Rother.
Lukas Mandangu >
Independent non-executive member of the Finance, Grants and Investment Committee
Lukas Mandangu
Lukas is currently the Finance Director responsible for the HSBC Group’s M&A and corporate development activities and has covered various senior management roles within the Group and the Asia Pacific Region. He has over 25 years of audit, financial and strategic management experience gained in the financial services sector across developed and emerging markets. Prior to working for HSBC, Lukas spent 5 years with Societe General in London. Lukas trained as a chartered accountant with PWC and left at a senior manager level having worked with the firm in three different countries. Lukas is also a governor, board and audit committee member of the Workings Men College, an adult education institute based in Camden that provides diverse and enriching lifelong learning, including skills for work, in a supportive environment for adults.
Mike Anderson >
Non-executive Director
Mike Anderson
Mike had a 34 year career in the financial services sector, 26 years of which were with the HSBC Group where he held various senior leadership positions, including Global Head of Asset & Liability Management, Group CFO roles and Secretary to the HSBC Group Risk Committee. Mike is currently a Trustee and Treasurer of The Papworth Trust and an independent member of the Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee and the Finance Committee of the A2Dominion Group.
Ria Bailes >
Non-executive Director
Ria Bailes
Ria has worked in and around social housing for 14 years and has led numerous organisation wide change and growth programmes. Ria has a breadth of experience leading human resources, corporate communications, training, community engagement and social mobility teams.
Richard Collier-Keywood OBE >
Chair
Richard Collier-Keywood OBE
Previously Global Vice Chairman at PwC, Richard was working with DCMS on financial inclusion in an advisory capacity from 2018 to March 2021. He is currently Chair of a number of companies, charities and social enterprises, including the School for Social Entrepreneurs, Big Education, New Forest Care and is the Chair of the audit and risk committee of the National Lottery and the Chair of the finance committee of the Women of the World Foundation, CoGo and St George’s House in Windsor Castle. A full list of Richard’s roles can be seen on our website.
Sir Leigh Lewis KCB >
Senior Independent Director
Sir Leigh Lewis KCB
Sir Leigh spent 37 years as a civil servant, latterly as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions from 2005 to 2010. He is also Vice Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, honorary Vice President of St Mungos and a visiting fellow at Greenwich University Business School.
Tina Kokkinos >
Independent non-executive member of the Audit and Risk Committee
Tina Kokkinos
TinaKokkinos joined Fair4All Finance’s Audit and Risk Committee in January 2023 and is an experienced Board Member and Chief Operating Officer (COO)/Senior Business Manager. She started her career in commerce before moving to financial services. Her experience includes various roles at JPM, HSBC and Coca-Cola and most recently COO at a FX FinTech start-up.
Since 2011, Tina has successfully used her COO skills as a Non-Executive Director and Advisory Committee member in various roles. She has had a long-standing tenure at Comic Relief. As well as her current role at British Rowing, she is Vice Chair of Comic Relief’s Audit & Risk Committee, Vice Chair and Senior Independent Director for The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and a non-executive director at Onward Homes (one of the largest housing associations in the North West).
As a CIMA qualified accountant, she is commercially driven with a reputation as a change agent, business collaborator and strategic advisor. Tina is passionate about the social finance sector and welcomes the opportunity to support the work on inclusion Fair4All is leading.
Job vacancies
We don’t have any vacancies right now. When we do we’ll pop them here and on our Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.
Our values
Fair
We’re impartial, open and rigorous in making sure our work has the right impact. We share a strong sense of fairness and we’re determined to make the system work better for everyone.
Inclusive
We value diversity and difference. We also recognise the financial system has a disproportionate impact on those excluded, so we’ll work doubly hard to ensure their voices and insights are reflected in our team and inform our work.
Bold
The problems we’re tackling require bold solutions and we won’t shy away from being radical. We’re prepared to take considered risks in order to make a difference.
Compassionate
We believe in treating everyone with dignity and respect, and we work with empathy to consider the needs of everyone we interact with. We take care in communicating the hard choices we’ll inevitably have to make.
Collaborative
We know we can’t change the system on our own and we don’t have all the answers. So we work in partnership with inspiring organisations as together we’re stronger.
Attention: We have been informed of fraudulent activity where people are offering unsecured loans using our name.
Please be careful as we do not provide loans or contact customers for this purpose. If you've been approached, please report to Action Fraud immediately via their website or on 0300 123 2040.
