I have now taken on the role of Chair of Cambria Cydfuddiannol Ltd, a Co-operative Society working to launch Banc Cambria. We were aiming to have a banking licence from the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) by autumn 2021, but the large number of new applications from European banks seeking a UK licence to avoid Brexit slowed the process down, and it has been further slowed by the Covid-19 pandemic which is causing delays to the application process, so we are still not sure of the timetable at this point in time.

Following a report to Welsh Government by the  Public Policy Institute for Wales, PPIW-Report-Full-Public-Bank-in-Wales, we have the full support of the Welsh Government, including some financial assistance, and we’re working with the Royal Society for Arts & Science (RSA) and the Community Savings Bank Association (CSBA).

Follow progress @banccambria or on my blog

The Case for Banc Cambria  is a summation of this learning, and is the basis from which we have started to build our co-operative bank.