Regional mutual banks: reinventing relationship banking in a digital age.
At its core, banking is about relationships and trust. Has modern banking lost its soul? Mutual financial institutions were one of the great innovations of the industrial revolution and Britain led the way. Ironically, we now find ourselves one of the only industrial countries that has no regional community banking sector. This matters because it is socially-orientated regional banks that often perform best in supporting local economies, SMEs and promoting financial inclusion.
A major RSA report has just come out The Road to Resilience: How Community Financial Services Can Help Level Up Britain. The report calls for the Levelling-up and post COVID build-back which regional mutual banks can be a key player in. It emphasises how the current UK banking sector has failed to help businesses recover from COVID. Regional and values-led banks in other countries like the US and Germany have been able to provide far better support to local businesses for COVID recovery.
Avon Mutual is a new challenger bank aiming to restore values-based community banking to Salisbury and the West of England, and is one of a new movement of regional mutual banks championed by the RSA and others emerging around the UK. Join us to hear about this new banking movement and latest developments at Avon Mutual. Our programme for the evening will be:
7.00pm -7.10pm Welcome and introductions
7.10pm - 7.50pm Speakers: Jules Peck and Tony Greenham
7.50pm – 8.30pm Questions and discussion led by John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister (where he has responsibility for banking and financial services policy).
Please book in Advance
The meeting is open to non-Fellows and Fellows. We welcome all who support the work of the RSA and who are interested in finding out more about the Avon Mutual Bank and wider initiatives in regional banking.
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