Minister praises UK’s credit unions

Ms Baldwin made the comments during a trip to Leeds to meet representatives from the Leeds City Credit Union, which helps to provide financial services and financial education.

Ms Baldwin also visited Yorkshire Building Society, where she participated in a round table discussion co-hosted with TheCityUK, an independent membership body which promotes the UK financial services industry.

Chris Cummings, chief executive of TheCityUK, said: “Too many people think that financial services are simply about London, but two-thirds of the jobs in our sector are outside the M25, and 128,000 of them are in Yorkshire.”

Ms Baldwin said: “It is great to see first-hand how Britain’s financial sector is thriving in Leeds. A key part of the Government’s economic plan is to rebalance the UK economy – financial services are central to this.”