Plans for a community bank targeted at bolstering small businesses and improving the lives of the poorest in our region are moving forward at pace.
The North West Mutual will be supported by Wirral, Liverpool and Preston councils and could have a huge impact on the long-term recovery from the pandemic.
The bank is now looking for people to work on its interim board, a body which will play a key role in making the mutual’s bold plans a reality.
It is looking for people who have experience in working with volunteers and dealing with people from all kinds of different backgrounds.
If you want to apply you can email info@nwmutual.co.uk.
Cllr Janette Williamson, leader of Wirral Council, is one of the main driving forces behind the project.
She spoke about the huge problem of “financial exclusion” the bank will help to address.
Speaking to the ECHO, she said: “Those on the lowest incomes have the [most difficulty] getting access to finance.
“It could be that someone needs a small loan to get them through or a slight increase on their overdraft, or an overdraft at all, many people can’t have one currently.
“[The community bank] is about looking after people like that, it’s about a bank which has that sort of relationship with customers."
One advantage of the bank is that it could help some of the poorest in Wirral to gain access to credit.
Cllr Williamson added: “It [financial exclusion] is why we have seen so many payday lenders who lend at enormous interest rates.
“We don’t want to see that, it can even be difficult to get an account set up with stuff like direct debits and standing orders.
“If you haven’t got a direct debit set up, you have to go on a card metre for gas and electric, which is always dearer.”
Last week, the ECHO reported on the loss of another bank branch in Wirral, this time it was the Santander branch in Liscard, the ward Cllr Williamson represents.
She thought this was a clear example of where the North West Mutual can have an impact.
The Labour leader said: “High street banks have let people down, in terms of small businesses, not offering accounts to people and excluding them financially, people often can’t find somewhere to get cash out.
“This bank will address the needs of the community. People use branches to make deposits, get statements and other things.
“It’s not necessarily about the physical building but the services it provides, the loss of high street banks is really important.
“We have lost 38% of bank branches in the Liverpool City Region [in recent years].”
Cllr Williamson said there will be many branches of the mutual around the borough, all with easy access to staff, even if some will not be staffed but will have access to banking facilities and the means to contact the branches which are staffed.
The bank is set to launch in around 18 months, the time it will take to get a banking licence should it be granted one, something Wirral Council’s leader is confident in achieving.
The authority has voted to put £5m into the project, with Liverpool and Preston councils also contributing financially to get the bank set up.
The money is coming out of the capital budget, meaning it is not taking funds away from day-to-day service like social care or bin collections.
Cllr Williamson added: “High street banks have lost their purpose of serving customers along the way.
“In the current climate we’ve got businesses trying to get back on their feet after Covid, they might have cash flow problems and need that bridge to get back on their feet.”
Do you think the North West Mutual is a good idea? Let us know in the comments below
It is in this area of supporting small, local businesses that Cllr Williamson thought the bank had great potential to serve the community and help to turn around decades of decline in towns such as Birkenhead.
Addressing the criticism of some that the North West Mutual is a “fluffy left-wing idea” in Cllr Williamson’s words, the Labour leader said: “The community bank will also generate long-term sustainable finance, it is the right thing at the right time.
“Profits will be put back into the local community and we won’t make the unethical investments we see high street banks making.
“75% of consumers agree that ethics and communities should play a major part in banks.
“Many have become too focused on making shareholders lots of money, and thinking it doesn’t matter if that’s to the exclusion of workers’ rights, ethical investment or the environment.
Got a Wirral story? Email me at george.morgan@reachplc.com
“That is a major factor. We want to help small businesses and pursue a low carbon agenda.
“This bank will work for current and future generations, creating jobs and investment in local businesses. This also includes mortgages, helping to improve home ownership.”
