ABCUL welcomes crackdown on loan sharks

ABCUL – the Association of British Credit Unions – has welcomed the Government’s crackdown on loan sharks.

The biggest ever nationwide crackdown on loan sharks and illegal lending was announced by John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform. New specialist teams have received funding of almost £3 million to hunt down loan sharks across England, Wales and Scotland as part of the Government’s drive to improve financial inclusion.

“This is fantastic news,” says Mark Lyonette, Chief Executive of ABCUL, the organisation which represents credit unions in this country. “ABCUL and its members are delighted to hear that the Government will be doing a lot more to stamp out illegal lending. Loan sharks are the scourge of less well off communities so any action that helps deal with this problem is good news.”

This latest initiative complements other projects that the Government has set up, and which ABCUL and its members are involved in, to help improve financial inclusion.

A Growth Fund of £42 million was given to credit unions and other community development finance organisations to boost access to affordable credit and banking services for the financially excluded.

The Now Let’s Talk Money campaign, which is funded by the Treasury and delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions, aims to inform people about free money advice and the alternatives to loan sharks and high cost, door step lenders. Worth £126 million, it is the Government’s biggest ever investment in raising awareness of free money advice and affordable credit and banking facilities, like credit union current accounts.

“The Government’s latest investment in cracking down on loan sharks will add extra weight to our work promoting safe, affordable financial services,” adds Mark Lyonette. “Our message is that there is no need for people to turn to illegal lenders – there are many legitimate alternatives, such as credit unions."