We’re pleased to publish our Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2022.
A year in which our mission became even more important.
The problem of financial exclusion has grown significantly in recent years, with at least 17.5m people in the UK in financially vulnerable circumstances. We pivoted our work in 2022 to reflect this.
We expanded our No Interest Loan Scheme pilot, launched a pilot for consolidation loans and accelerated our work on benefit calculators.
We also brought together key people from across the industry to develop more affordable credit options and increased the provision of affordable credit through our investees to £47m.
Our research has shown the benefits of increasing financial inclusion and we will continue to work with mainstream players in the financial services industry to find solutions and drive change.
Highlights include
Increased provision of affordable credit
- The five investees on our Affordable Credit Scale Up Programme lent £47m in 2022 across 123,000 loans – double the amount they lent in 2020
Expanded our No Interest Loans Scheme
- We moved from proof of concept to full pilot, with 40% of borrowers going on to take out a subsequent commercial loan and 77% starting saving
Raised awareness of the community finance sector
- Our awareness raising campaign reached 250,000 potential customer
Launched a Consolidation Loans pilot
- The pilot will enable over £50m of lending, saving customers £21.5m in interest payments
Researched financial vulnerability
- We conducted research to support product and service development, including in depth lived experience work generating new insight from customers
The power of working together
All our work is in collaboration with others and we’re grateful for the generosity and insight of each of our stakeholders.
As we move into the next phase of our work, we’re clear that we cannot change the financial system on our own. We know it will take the combined skills of the whole industry, government and regulators. Our role is as a catalyst and we look forward to continuing to work with all our partners in the fight against financial exclusion.
Together we can keep making a difference to the lives of millions of people.
