Credit Union Common Bond Reform
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
This document provides a summary of the key themes raised by respondents in response to questions in the call for evidence and notes the government’s policy position on changing the credit union common bond in Great Britain.
The government intends to bring forward changes to the common bond in Great Britain. When parliamentary time allows, the government will legislate to:
- Increase the potential membership cap on the locality bond from 3 million to 10 million. This will significantly expand the potential size of locality-based credit unions, which make up 79% of the sector, and reduce uncertainty regarding mergers;
- Allow credit unions to permit students to join locality-based credit unions, in addition to those who reside or work in the geographical area;
- Allow credit unions to admit members’ relatives into a credit union regardless of whether they live in the same household as the qualifying member, as well as individuals who live in the same household as the qualifying member. This will better reflect modern family dynamics and broaden the membership base;
- Allow credit unions to retain members of occupation and employer bonds as fully qualifying members upon retirement, including allowing retirees to join a credit union after retirement has begun. This will also apply to locality bonds where members are eligible based on employment within the locality.
These reforms will help credit unions grow sustainably so that more people across the country can access affordable, community-based financial services.
Original call for evidence
Call for evidence description
Credit unions are member-owned and democratically controlled financial institutions which primarily provide loans and savings products to their members. Under the Credit Unions Act 1979, credit union members must have specific common bonds between them. These are the links and common communities between members.
The aim of this call for evidence is to understand whether there is a case to change parts of the common bond requirement, in order to help credit unions grow sustainably and ensure this aspect of the legislative framework for credit unions is fit for the 21st century.
This call for evidence only seeks views on the common bond for credit unions in England, Wales, and Scotland. This is because responsibility for credit unions in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.
How to respond and next steps
The call for evidence consists of 15 open-ended questions and will run for 16 weeks until 11:45 PM on 6 March 2025.
The Government welcomes input from all those interested in this call for evidence.
Following this call for evidence, the Government will publish a summary of responses and its proposed next steps, which may include a consultation on specific proposals.
Responses to this call for evidence should be emailed to: creditunions@hmtreasury.gov.uk
Documents
Updates to this page
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Call for evidence response added.
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First published.