SELF-MADE millionaire David Fishwick returns to the nation’s TV screens tomorrow night to continue his crusade towards banking reform.
The Burnley-born businessman made his fortune selling minibuses and has now forged a reputation as the ‘people’s banker’ thanks to his low-interest ‘bank’, Burnley Savings and Loans Limited.
‘Fighting the Fat Cats’ follows Mr Fishwick in his battle for approval from the Financial Service Authority as he seeks to spread his community-focused approach around the country.
He currently runs his ‘bank’, which offers low-interest credit to fledgling businesses, from Keirby Walk in Burnley along with financial expert David Henshaw and a team of three staff. His ideas to revolutionise banking have attracted interest from Germany, Russia and America, as well as Business Secretary Vince Cable after a two-part series screened last year.
Mr Fishwick said: “When I started, I spoke to all the banking gurus and everybody said what I wanted to do was impossible. I thought that was mad. My job as an entrepreneur is to turn ‘no’ into ‘yes’.
“There were massive queues in every town we visited. We now have a two-year waiting list of people who want to put money in.”
Mr Fishwick donates all profits made, after overheads are accounted for, to a variety of charities including Pendleside Hospice.
He said: “There are no bonuses at the ‘Bank of Dave’. I don’t make a penny. We’ve got less than one per cent bad debt.
“We aim to put social responsibility back into banking. My ultimate goal for this is for decent, honest and ethical banks to crop up in 1,000 towns and cities in the UK. If they lend to 1,000 business inside three years, as we’re on track to do, that’s one million people and business helped.”
Tomorrow’s programme will be aired on Channel 4 at 10pm.
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