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UK 'needs accessible financial services'

By Sarah Engle, Thu 4 Mar 2010 - Published in Banking

There is still a great need for accessible financial services in the UK, according to an expert.

Paul Jones, senior researcher at the Research Unit for Financial Inclusion at Liverpool John Moores University, pointed out that many advances have been made in granting people access to banking services, such as the Saving Gateway and growth funds.

Mr Jones, who was speaking at the Northern Money Conference 2010, commented: "Even though those advances have been made, there is still much to be done. There is much to be done because the context is changing."

The expert pointed out that the recession has led to a tightening of available credit as banks apply stricter lending criteria to potential customers.

In addition, he noted that there has been a rise in demand for debt advice, while personal insolvencies continue to grow.

Recent figures from Credit Action revealed that total personal debt in the UK grew by 0.8 per cent over the last year to reach £1,463 billion.