The London Assembly’s Economy, Culture and Skills Committee has written formally to Mayor Sadiq Khan asking him to use his powers to expand access to credit unions across London. The letter, published on the GLA website, makes two concrete asks, and it’s genuinely encouraging to see them.
Credit unions have been doing real work in London’s communities for decades. It’s good to see that recognised at the highest level of London government.
London Mutual’s evidence to the Committee
In February, Ben West, our Head of Business Development, gave evidence to the Committee’s inquiry. He made two arguments: that more GLA bodies should offer payroll partnerships with credit unions, and that London’s credit unions needed a forum to collaborate and build collective reach. The Committee has now put both to the Mayor.
What the Committee is asking for
Expand employer partnerships across the GLA family
The GLA, TfL and the London Fire Brigade already partner with credit unions, giving employees access to affordable loans and savings through payroll. Several GLA bodies don’t yet have this in place — including the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime. The Committee wants that gap closed. It’s also asking for a session where GLA staff can hear directly from credit unions about what they offer.
Bring London’s credit unions together
The letter asks the Mayor to use his convening power to create a regular forum for the sector, covering joint marketing, shared products, and greater collective reach. The Committee wants the first meeting before the end of 2026-27.
Why this matters
The letter makes clear that financial stress in this city isn’t confined to the poorest households. London’s housing and living costs push people at every income level into difficulty, and credit unions are often the only affordable option when things go wrong.
Our own data shows what employer partnerships already deliver. Last year, LMCU saved members over £2.1 million in interest compared to high-cost alternatives. That’s £41,000 a week returned to people who needed it. We’re proud of that. 83% of our lending reached the most deprived half of London’s communities, and 96.8% of borrowers maintained a savings balance throughout their loan, building financial resilience alongside their repayments.
That’s what this model produces. Now the Committee is asking the Mayor to extend it.
What we hope comes next
The Mayor has until 17 April to respond. We’re looking forward to seeing how he responds – and for our part, we’d welcome the chance to work with City Hall on both recommendations.
Expanding payroll partnerships to more public sector bodies would make a real difference. After all, thousands of Londoners currently have no easy route into affordable credit. A collaboration forum could unlock what has helped the sector thrive in Ireland, the US, and Canada. There, credit unions are a normal part of financial life, not a niche alternative.
London could look like that too.
