Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has considered allowing the British Business Bank to a) accept deposits and b) run a pilot scheme allowing it to lend directly to i) businesses and ii) community housing groups in areas where community development finance institutions are less prevalent.

The British Business Bank has no plans to accept deposits and is not authorised to do so. This would require an application to the Prudential Regulation Authority, which regulates deposit-taking institutions.

Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play a vital role in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. While it is the case that CDFIs are less prevalent in some areas, they have the potential to serve every part of the UK. The government and British Business Bank are collaborating with Responsible Finance and others on the UK Community Finance Partnership Taskforce, an initiative to grow the CDFI sector substantially over the next 5-10 years.