ABCUL Welcomes Mutuals Landscape Report as a Significant Step Toward Sector Growth

Friday 5 December 2025

ABCUL has welcomed today’s publication of the Mutuals Landscape Report from the PRA and FCA as commissioned by HM Treasury as part of its agenda to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector.  The report is recognising it as an important milestone in creating the right environment for a thriving credit union and wider co-operative and mutual sector.

It sets out a range of regulatory reforms already undertaken to support the sector – including, for credit unions, proposed PRA reforms to support investment in Credit Union Service Organisations (CUSOs) – alongside new commitments for further reforms and support initiatives.  The package which, alongside a generally supportive approach to mutual and co-operative business models, will help unlock the growth potential of the sector.

The key announcement for credit unions in the report is a commitment to a wholesale review of credit union regulation which both seeks to ensure maintenance of proportionate regulation for smaller credit unions while creating a more sophisticated prudential regime for larger, more complex credit unions including the potential for risk-weighted capital.  Alongside wider commitments for policy sprints, a new Mutual Societies Development Unit and a Scale-Up Unit to support co-ops and mutuals with ambitious growth plans, the package represents a significant opportunity to shape a new flexible and enabling regulatory settlement for credit unions and the wider sector.

Following the recent publication of the Financial Inclusion Strategy which announced a £30 million credit union transformation fund through Fair4All Finance and confirmed the commitment to liberalise the common bond regime following a consultation earlier in 2025, there are massive opportunities to transform the growth potential of the credit union sector into 2026 and beyond.

Commenting on the report, ABCUL CEO, Matt Bland said: “We strongly welcome the publication of the Mutuals Landscape Report and the clear recognition from regulators that a modern, proportionate framework is essential to unlocking the full potential of credit unions. This and the steps already taken to remove regulatory burden and promote CUSO development are important signals of support.

“The commitment to a comprehensive review of the credit union regulatory regime creates a major opportunity to create a regulatory platform from which to deliver the doubling agenda and wider financial inclusion strategy and ultimately, to deliver for the communities that credit unions serve. We would like to thank FCA and PRA as well as HM Treasury for their ambition and support for credit union growth.

“We are excited to work with regulators and Government as we take forward these measures alongside the wider agenda for credit union transformation.”