Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-04-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to facilitate the establishment of community banks that are willing to service rural communities and small local economies.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government is committed to creating the right regulatory environment that allows banks to enter and expand within the market, and serve customers and communities effectively. This is why the Government has substantially lowered barriers to entry by introducing more proportionate requirements for new banks and establishing the New Bank Start-up Unit run by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, and creating the Payment Systems Regulator to ensure all banks can access payment systems on fair and equal terms.

In addition, this Government has committed to support the credit union movement to make financial services more accessible. Credit unions are community-based financial institutions which already provide services to under-served and financially excluded communities.