Link: http://www.progressonline.org.uk/columns/column.asp?c=239

Our government rightly led the way at the G20 Summit in London in calling for reform of our beleaguered financial framework. We now need to work closely with our European colleagues in turning these ambitions into something more concrete, before the worst of the financial crisis is forgotten.

One interesting idea is the role of the mutual or co-operative model of providing financial services. It is clear that structures and values are important for the way banks do business. And some of the new ways of doing business are embedded in the way building societies, credit unions and ethical investment funds do business – the USP of the mutual model is based on values and structures, particularly shared ownership.

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