Burnley Savings and Loans (BSAL) is an independent lending company based in

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, England. It was founded by Dave Fishwick, a local businessman, in 2011. The scheme gained media attention after Fishwick's early efforts were captured in a series for Channel 4 in 2012, including his call for Parliament to reform the

banking system A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. In 2017, BSAL applied to become a UK regulated bank, "The Bank of Dave", offering an expanded range of products to a wider audience. A film series starring

Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in ''The Man of Mode'', and for playing the William Shakespeare villain ...

and fictionalising its forming was released: '' Bank of Dave'' (2023) and '' Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger'' (2025).

History

During the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, Dave Fishwick felt that the existing banking system needed change as he believed that traditional high street banks were not lending enough money to people or small businesses, and that they were held in a negative view by the wider population, particularly because of the ' bonus culture' that benefited the banks' employees. In response to this, he assembled a small team and began lending through BSAL by personally underwriting all loans and assessing the risk of each loan by studying the business models and repayment plans of his customers. Since opening, the enterprise has lent to thousands of customers, mainly centred around

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and the north of England. After six months of trading, BSAL had returned a profit and passed it on to various charities, including local food banks and community centres. The company reported that by 2022 it had given loans totalling over £27 million to thousands of businesses and people.

Media coverage

BSAL has received media attention since it first opened in 2011. In July 2012, the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

series ''Bank of Dave'' was broadcast in the UK and was later aired around the world by various broadcasters. It followed the creation of the scheme as it opened its doors to the public. In February 2013, a follow-up

Scottish BAFTA BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1986, the branch holds two annual awards ceremonies recognising the achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, televis ...

winning episode named ''Bank of Dave: Fighting the Fat Cats'' was shown. Fishwick's book, ''Bank of Dave: How I Took On the Banks'', describing the venture, was also released that year. A film, '' Bank of Dave'', based on Fishwick's efforts in setting up BSAL, was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in January 2023, with a sequel, '' Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger'', releasing in January 2025.

Lobbying

Since the first series of the Channel 4 series aired in 2012, Fishwick has continued to lobby Parliament to reform the UK's banking system, which has received support from former Shadow Business Secretary

Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British businessman and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabine ...

MP, who supported the idea of a bank looking to "serve and grow the local economy rather than just for profit and serving the shareholders". Steve Baker MP, former member of the

Treasury Committee The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee is responsible for examining and scrutinizing the ...

, has said, "It is towards this model that the world should move".

References

{{reflist 2011 establishments in the United Kingdom British companies established in 2011 Companies based in Burnley Financial services companies established in 2011 Financial services companies of England