David Fishwick

Burnley Savings and Loans (BSAL)

Industry	Financial Services
Founded	September 2011 (2011-09)
Founder	David Fishwick
Headquarters	Burnley, England
Area served	Lancashire
Products	Business and Personal Loans
Owner	David Fishwick
Number of employees	10+
Website	burnleysavingsandloans.co.uk

Burnley Savings and Loans Limited (BSAL) is an independent lending company based in Burnley, United Kingdom founded by David (Dave) Fishwick, a successful local businessman, in September 2011.

BSAL offers a range of business and personal loans and commercial hire purchase loans, and prides itself on a personal approach to lending, building a relationship between its staff and customers. It does not solely rely on the use of automated credit scoring to evaluate potential customers, but instead uses a common sense approach to underwriting applications.

Trading under the slogan “Bank on Dave”, after its founder, the scheme has gained media attention after the television series of the same name screened on Channel 4 in 2012, with Dave bringing his campaign for community banking to the fore, encouraging parliament to reform the banking system. Currently BSAL is applying to become a UK regulated bank, “The Bank of Dave”, offering an expanded range of products to an expanded audience.

After the recession began in 2008, Dave felt that the current banking system needed change; he felt that traditional high street banks weren't lending enough money to people or small businesses, which he saw as the backbone of the local economy. He also recognised the negative view of larger banks held by the wider population, particularly the ‘bonus culture’ that these banks’ employees were benefiting from.

In response to this, Dave 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 scheme has lent to thousands of customers, mainly centred around Lancashire and the North.

Dave also pledged that BSAL would support the local community. After six months of trading BSAL had returned a profit, and passed it on to various charities including local food banks and community centres.

BSAL is currently applying to become a UK regulated bank to be known as “The Bank of Dave”. Progress on the application is underway, procuring systems and technology and finding new premises in preparation for a planned opening in 2018.

BSAL has been in the media spotlight since it first opened its doors in 2011. The Channel 4 series Bank of Dave, was broadcast in the UK in July 2012, 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. A follow-up Scottish BAFTA winning episode named Bank of Dave: Fighting the Fat Cats was shown in February 2013, with Dave’s Sunday Times bestselling book of the same title, describing what the venture had entailed, being released later that year. Since then, the UK and international media has maintained its interest in the charismatic entrepreneur behind BSAL, with regular column inches in the mainstream UK and worldwide press, and many TV programmes broadcast on Channel 4 and CNBC on the theme of consumer interest.