In just one month, almost 100 Credit Unions across Britain have applied for funding to the new Lloyds Banking Group Credit Union Development Fund. Run in partnership with the Credit Union Foundation, the Fund has seen a minimum of four applications per region with the highest number of applications from the North West of England followed closely by Scotland.

Discussing the recent raft of applications, Graham Lindsay, Director, Responsible Business & Community Affairs for Lloyds Banking Group said: "We are delighted to see such a positive response in this inaugural year of the fund which will help credit unions lay down firm foundations to ensure that people across our local communities - many of whom are facing the hardest of times - are able to access finance in a safe and responsible way. This, together with our £1/4m investment in the pilot stage of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Church Credit Champions Network, will help to significantly strengthen this important sector."

Annette Warne-Thomas, Executive Director of the Credit Union Foundation, said: "It's very encouraging to see so many credit unions across the whole of the UK recognise the value of this opportunity to further strengthen their position and to help ensure a sustainable, thriving credit union movement for the future."

Credit union membership continues to increase

Credit unions play a vital role in their communities, providing access to affordable credit for those who need it most. Underscoring the need for credit unions, since 2004, membership has increased by 90%, and recent data, published by the Bank of England, indicates that Britain's credit unions now serve more than 1 million people.

The Lloyds Banking Group Credit Union Development Fund features two kinds of grants:

Large awards (of between £50,000 and £100,000) to provide a contribution to a credit union's reserves and help remove barriers to growth and innovation.

Seed funding awards (of between £10,000 and £20,000) to help credit unions make the changes they need to apply for a large award in a subsequent year or to pay for the costs of merger in certain circumstances.

The successful credit unions will be announced later this year.

Helping Britain Prosper

Lloyds Banking Group recently announced its Helping Britain Prosper Plan where, for the first time, it revealed seven separate and significant public commitments to address some of the big issues facing Britain today. The Group's commitment to Financial Inclusion will be delivered as part of its ground breaking Prosper Plan.

Lloyds Banking Group colleagues have a wide range of skills and experience to offer, so the Group will further strengthen its links with Credit Unions by increasing the local mentoring and volunteering support in areas such as IT, Telephony, Risk and business management. It aims to partner with up to 20 Credit Unions by the end of 2014.

- Ends -

distributed by