JustMoney Movementi has welcomed actor and debt campaigner Michael Sheen’s support for a new Fair Banking Act to help tackle the crisis of unaffordable credit and problem debt, in a Channel 4 documentary broadcast on 10 March.
‘Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway’ followed Sheen as he spends his own money paying off the debts of hundreds of people in South Wales. Along the way, it shined a spotlight on the impact that unaffordable credit and problem debt has on individuals, families and communities across the country.
JustMoney Movement (www.justmoney.org.uk), a Christian charity working across the UK churches to connect faith and finance for a fairer, greener world, is part of a coalition calling for a Fair Banking Act to help tackle this problem. Together with over 30 organisations that are part of the Fair Banking for All Campaign, JustMoney Movement is calling for the Government to use legislation to create a ratings system for banks on how well they are addressing financial exclusion, including access to affordable credit for those who need it.
The cost of living crisis is continuing to bite. More than 1 in 5 people in the UK are in poverty,ii struggling to make ends meet, let alone having enough to put by for a rainy day. Up to a third of adults in the UK have no savings at all.iii While credit is not a solution to poverty, lack of access to affordable credit can exacerbate poverty and cause misery to millions. Many people on low incomes are refused services like loans, overdrafts and insurance by mainstream banks so if something goes wrong, or happens out of the ordinary, like a car breaking down or an illness, they have no choice but to borrow from high-cost lenders, potentially including illegal money lenders like loan sharks.
Sarah Edwards, Executive Director of JustMoney Movement, said:
“As Christians we believe that every person is made in the image of God and should be treated with dignity. Jesus proclaimed good news to the poor and called us to love our neighbours and seek justice for the oppressed. We want to see a fair banking system that enables everyone to access the services they need to support their families and to lead full and flourishing lives. But millions of people are not being served by the mainstream banks, forcing them to turn to high cost lenders, with eye-watering interest rates leading them deeper into poverty and causing growing misery and suffering.”
Dr Selina Stone, theologian and Patron of JustMoney Movement said:
“I grew up in an area where betting shops and payday lenders alternated along the high street. They targeted those who were in need, knowing they would often be desperate enough to try anything for the chance of getting cash quickly. By supporting a Fair Banking Act we can help tackle this problem and build stronger alternatives like credit unions, cooperatives and community banks. It is everyday people like us, building financial power together, that can have a huge impact on the world and for those most in need.”
Bishop Mike Royal, General Secretary of Churches Together in England and Patron of JustMoney Movement said:
“We need a banking system that serves the welfare of our society. But millions of people are shut out from the mainstream banks, forced to turn to payday lenders and loan sharks. As Christians we are called to speak out against this injustice and seek a fairer system that enables them to flourish. A Fair Banking Act would mandate banks to do more to serve people on low incomes and would strengthen institutions like credit unions, which have the interests of their communities at heart.”
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