A credit union-like story: Bank of Dave

by Chip Filson, CUSO Magazine

Streaming on Netflix is the movie Bank of Dave. Set in Burnley in the north of England, it is the story of a local van seller who sought the first new banking license to be issued in 150 years in the UK. It is a contemporary version of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life.

Dave’s intent is “not about me making money” but creating jobs and the quality of life for the whole community. Profits will go to charity.

For the Financial Regulatory Board, the question is not can it succeed, but rather should it exist?

All the incumbents want to preserve the status quo where a few, large “financial supermarkets” dominate the economy. Dave’s local proposal is not the “right sized bank.”

 

 

continue reading »