Council support for Credit Union

Publication date: Wednesday 13 June 2012

Haringey Council will help hundreds more residents to avoid the pitfalls of high interest payday loans by offering a £750,000 loan to the local credit union.

The council’s Cabinet group last night agreed a package which will allow the Haringey, Islington and City Credit Union (website - external link) to protect more people from spiralling debt by offering affordable loans and encouraging people to save.

Haringey will offer the Credit Union an initial loan of £250,000 and hopes to follow this up with further investment of up to £500,000 depending on targets being met.

The agreement could see more than 1,600 Haringey households become members of the Credit Union.

It will also allow the credit union to expand its outreach work to make more people aware of the alternative to expensive payday loan companies - with more than ten already operating in Tottenham and Wood Green.

Cllr Alan Strickland, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Social Inclusion, said:

"We are determined to support our residents through the toughest economic times many of us have ever known.

"As rising unemployment, higher bills, steeper fares and cuts to benefits pile financial pressure on families, the demand for extortionate payday loans is rising.

"Payday loan companies - some of which charge annual interest rates in excess of 4,000 per cent - target the most defenceless. Their growth is a great threat to financially vulnerable residents and damages the vibrancy of our high streets.

"We are taking action to reclaim our high streets, with efforts to curb the number of betting shops and improve the variety of shops. Making clear that payday loan companies are not welcome in Haringey is part of that action.

"We are determined to show people that there is an alternative. We’re proud to back the Credit Union to help to protect residents from a spiral of ever-increasing debt and support them instead into the habit of saving."

• See our Credit Union page for information on how to join

Subscribe to Email Alerts |  RSS News Feed | What is RSS? | News Archive

• Return to Latest News or the News Archive