As somebody who previously worked in the mutual building society sector, I welcomed the 2012 UK credit unions Act, freeing credit unions to work with housing providers, community groups, employers, social enterprises and charities to bring financial services to new groups of people.

Although credit union membership in Wales has grown 50 per cent in the last five years, now standing at 80,000, the Welsh credit unions are by far the biggest lenders of affordable credit to the financially excluded. Only approximately 2.5 per cent of people in Wales currently use credit unions, compared to 46 per cent in the United States. As Welsh credit unions state, the Welsh Government should continue to help them in their aim of establishing a fully financially independent and sustainable sector by 2021, building capacity, ensuring greater and more effective collaboration and supporting the development of shared credit union services. But Welsh Government should also examine the not-for-profit community banking model developed in Wales by Responsible Finance, working with credit unions where credit unions can’t.