Latest Publications

The shift towards digital banking, accelerated by the pandemic, creates many opportunities and offers benefits for the economy as a whole – but also brings with it some risks. This report explores future access to retail banking services, and the best way to ensure any such changes take place fairly and sustainably, and no one is left behind.

Around 350,000 people use pawnbroking services each year, but the industry is in decline. This report builds a picture of why pawnbroking customers' use the service, how satisfied they are with it, and, crucially, what they would do if it were to vanish from the credit market.

This paper makes the case for introducing a statutory levy on the gambling industry, to be overseen by a new independent board led by the Department of Health and Social Care. The paper surveys the current voluntary system of industry funding for harm reduction. It finds that the voluntary system is structurally flawed and has failed in its approach.

This briefing paper explores the role that banks and building societies can play in bolstering financial resilience and improving outcomes for vulnerable customers. It calls for financial institutions to be made to compete with each other on providing quality financial wellbeing services, and ultimately empower customers.

This report explores the state of competition in the UK economy, and the extent to which supposedly competitive markets are delivering good outcomes for customers, with a particular focus on the retail banking sector. It sets out a range of policy recommendations for enhancing competition in the banking sector and the UK economy more broadly.

This essay series, collected in partnership with the Chartered Banker Institute, re-evaluates the concept of the stakeholder economy in light of the economic and social shockwaves delivered by the Coronavirus pandemic.

This report explores the economic footprint of the entire gambling industry and its sub-sectors, and considers the extent to which the “economic defence” of business as usual stands up to scrutiny.

This report explores the subject of “mortgage safety nets” - support for mortgage-holders in the event of loss of income or employment.

This paper argues that policymakers should introduce a savings auto-enrolment scheme to help bolster financial resilience amongst low-paid workers.