Bank of Dave!..

[Guest]

The bank of Dave that's what we need. Liked the first show, this time much better,

Can we do one and call it bank of 3PA, Three Parish Association......

[Maggie 65]

We could all become bankers!

[Simple Simon 36]

I would be prepared to invest in a secure local bank that gave me a 5% interest and gave its profits to local charities in the 3 villages.

[Big Local 10]

Hello Keith,

                  There's no reason at all why something like this couldn't form a part of the Big Local programme, if there's enough support for it.

One way it might work would be for the local partnership to deposit a part of the £1m as a 'corporate deposit' with a suitable organisation (such as Just Credit Union, who are the credit union for Shropshire). They would then manage the money on a day-to-day basis on behalf of the Big Local partnership - but I imagine the partnership would have responsibility for deciding which applicants get the loans, and would also have responsibility for deciding other details (such as maximum/minimum loan sizes, length of term, possibly interest rate charged, etc).  

This is all in the very early stages at the moment, but I'm trying to open the dicussion with the credit union so that, if there is enough local support, we can develop the idea knowing that we have a willing partner who would undertake the day-to-day management of the scheme, and also what the various practicalities are.

I'd be interested to know how many people think this might be an idea worth pursuing.

The next Big Local Delivery Group meeting is on the evening of Wednesday next week, 20th March, at 7pm at Gobowen Scout Hut. If you're able to come along that would be great, but it would also be good to see an open discussion of the idea on this forum, and particularly hear from anyone willing and able to help develop the idea (assuming enough people think it's a good one, of course).

If you've got time and inclination, there's some interesting stuff about this sort of thing on the Local Trust website (under the heading of 'Social Investment' in the resources section), which will also be on our 3 Parishes Big Local website when it goes live in the next week or so.

[Simple Simon 36]

I'm going to contact Dave Fishwick of Bank of Dave fame. I'm getting really concerned about the state of our banking system and the security of our savings. 

 

Is there anyone on CO who would like me to put specific questions to him?

 

I only have the bank's address, so I'll send a letter (with SAE) to him after the Easter holiday.

[SJC 0]

Simon,

 

have you seen Bank on Dave's website, may be worth a look before you contact him.

[Simple Simon 36]

This from "Bank on Dave!" - Burnley Savings and Loans Ltd:

 

"We write further to your recent currepondence regarding the possibility of opening a similar system to Burnley Savings and Loans Ltd in the Shropshire area.

 

We thank you for your letter and your interest. We are currently receiving hundreds of letters, emails and telephone calls from people and organisations interested in opening a community bank, run by the community for the benefit of the community.

 

We are currently in the process of applying for a community bank licence, and once we receive the licence we will be able to provide help and assistance in rolling our system out across the country.

 

You can assist us in this application. We are hoping that public support in this matter will help us in our goal of obtaining a community bank licence, and we would be grateful if you would write to the banking regulatory body and support Burnley Savings and Loans Limited's cause."

 

The regulatory body is of course the FSA in London.