Unity Trust Bank launches Community Asset Transfer Loan
16 Jun 2008
Socially responsible bank is first to market in funding community projects transferred from local authorities.
Unity Trust Bank has announced the launch of its new Community Asset Transfer (CAT) loan account, the first of its kind in the UK.
The inspiration behind the CAT account is to provide much-needed assistance to voluntary and charitable organisations which have been transferred assets from local authorities or other public bodies. The CAT account is designed to help in the purchase or refurbishment of such assets and allow organisations the cash injection often required for them to provide well-managed and well-maintained facilities to the local community.
Community asset transfer is an initiative which allows community organisations to use their expertise in supplying services to local people to turn assets such as disused swimming baths, old hospital sites and disused community centres into successful and empowering local projects.
Unity, which has a long history of working within the social economy sector, has viewed the government-sponsored initiative as a way of supporting the development of social economy organisations, and thereby meeting their wider strategies for renewal and improved delivery of local services.
Paul Martin, Head of Social Economy, said “Community organisations bring a huge range of activities and benefits to the local areas in which they operate. An integral part of our ethos at Unity is to support these organisations in realising real gains for local people and the community asset transfer scheme gives them increased potential to do this. This is especially relevant in the current economic climate which may affect the ease of community groups to raise finance from traditional high street sources. The CAT loan account is one way in which we can help communities to help themselves.”
For more information regarding the CAT loan account, please visit www.unity.co.uk/CAT or email CAT@unity.co.uk.
