David Fishwick left school at 16. Without any qualifications, he went straight into the building trade. Unsatisfied with amount of money he was earning, he began to buy and sell cars. After a long day on the building site, he would then repair the cars in his garage, and then sell them on at a profit. Before long he was managing to turn around one car a week. At 21 he had raised enough money to open his own dealership in a rented garage. It was at this point that Fishwick's business really began to take off. Today, at 42 years of age, Fishwick is now the proud owner the UK's biggest van and minibus supplier.
In September 2011 he decided that he would open up his own bank in Burnley that would provide financial services to local businesses (mainly savings and loans). Not only are the interest rates offered more competitive than the High Street banks, but all of the bank's profits after overheads go to local charities. None of the profits go to employee bonuses.
Fishwick had to get through various hoops and jumps to get this far, but after much tribulation, the FSA (Financial Services Authority) finally agreed to pass legislation enabling Fishwick to continue and expand his project to other cities across the UK.
Fishwick explained, "Fortunately for me, I met a lot of people who shared my dream of finding a better way to run a bank. I began to gather support from politicians like Steve Baker, Michael Meacher, Guy Opperman, and the Business Secretary Vince Cable. I was even mentioned in a debate in the House of Commons."
This is not the first time banks have operated in this way. In fact, this was once how banking worked in Britain. There are also banks in Europe operating in this way, including Spain and Germany.
What are your views on Fishwick's developments?
Are we going in the right direction?
Sources:
http://maxclifford.com/current-clients-testmonials/companies/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-fishwick/bank-of-dave-why-i-opened-it_b_1664967.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/mar/01/bank-of-dave-fighting-fat-cats
In September 2011 he decided that he would open up his own bank in Burnley that would provide financial services to local businesses (mainly savings and loans). Not only are the interest rates offered more competitive than the High Street banks, but all of the bank's profits after overheads go to local charities. None of the profits go to employee bonuses.
Fishwick had to get through various hoops and jumps to get this far, but after much tribulation, the FSA (Financial Services Authority) finally agreed to pass legislation enabling Fishwick to continue and expand his project to other cities across the UK.
Fishwick explained, "Fortunately for me, I met a lot of people who shared my dream of finding a better way to run a bank. I began to gather support from politicians like Steve Baker, Michael Meacher, Guy Opperman, and the Business Secretary Vince Cable. I was even mentioned in a debate in the House of Commons."
This is not the first time banks have operated in this way. In fact, this was once how banking worked in Britain. There are also banks in Europe operating in this way, including Spain and Germany.
What are your views on Fishwick's developments?
Are we going in the right direction?
Sources:
http://maxclifford.com/current-clients-testmonials/companies/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-fishwick/bank-of-dave-why-i-opened-it_b_1664967.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/mar/01/bank-of-dave-fighting-fat-cats
