David Clarke
Government publishes green finance strategy: Positive Money response
2 July, 2019Responding to the announcement in today's green finance strategy that the government will consider requiring listed companies and pension firms to publish climate impact reports, Positive Money’s director Fran Boait said: “With a small window of time to decarbonise the economy, there is a need to rapidly shift lending and investment out of risky fossil [...]
Cash machine charges will hit poor hardest: Positive Money comment on free ATM closures
1 May, 2019Responding to research by Which? showing that 1,700 ATMs switched to charging in the first three months of 2019, David Clarke, head of policy at Positive Money said: “The shocking trend of free cash machine closures will only accelerate unless the recent cuts to the amount banks pay to maintain Britain’s ATM network are reversed. [...]
Bank of England pension scheme responds to our letter, pledging to report on climate risk
26 April, 2019Last week heralded a major breakthrough in how the Bank of England is responding to the risks posed by climate change. Governor Mark Carney announced that the Bank will disclose how financial risks from climate change are managed across its entire operations. Significantly, the Bank has also committed to disclose how it manages the climate [...]
Major breakthroughs on central banks and climate change
18 April, 2019Major breakthroughs on central banks and climate change If we’re going to stop irreversible climate change, we need to decarbonise our financial system, which channels billions of pounds into fossil fuels every year. As institutions at the heart of our financial system, central banks have a crucial role to play. They influence how money flows [...]
Labour commits to keep RBS public after our campaign
3 April, 2019Our campaign to stop the RBS sell-off scored a big victory this week as Labour announced plans to keep the bank in public ownership, with a new focus on productive investment. We are proud to be working alongside We Own It and the New Economics Foundation on this campaign. We’ve warned that the sale of [...]
Access to Cash Review: Positive Money response
6 March, 2019Responding to the independent Access to Cash Review published on Wednesday, which warns that Britain's cash system is "on the verge of collapse", David Clarke, head of policy at Positive Money said: "This review underscores the urgency with which Government and regulators must act to maintain the UK’s cash infrastructure, which is on the brink [...]
Stop the RBS sell-off! Sign our petition to Philip Hammond
14 February, 2019Today we’re releasing poll results which show that only a fraction of people support the Government’s plans to sell off RBS in the near future. (You can read the Guardian’s coverage here.) Selling RBS would represent a huge missed opportunity to help reform Britain’s banking sector. Before RBS releases its annual results tomorrow, we’re launching [...]
Financial regulators finally act on climate change but must go further, faster
6 February, 2019The UK’s financial regulators are finally taking action to address the profound risks that climate change poses to the firms they supervise, and the system they oversee. But in our response to the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent climate change discussion paper, we argue they must rapidly accelerate their efforts before it’s too late. As a [...]
MPs echo Positive Money’s call to give regulator new powers to protect cash
19 December, 2018The pressure is growing on the Government to prevent the rapid pace of cash machine closures, which are continuing at a rate of hundreds every month. Earlier this month, MPs challenged Treasury minister John Glen to do more to stop consumers losing access to their money. A debate organised by Labour's Ged Killen featured MPs [...]