Lucy Rigby, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has summoned 20 of the UK's leading banks and financial services to a meeting next month to discuss measures to tackle economic abuse. The initiative comes as figures from the charity Surviving Economic Abuse reveal that 4.2 million women in the UK experienced economic abuse from a current or former partner last year alone.
Economic abuse, which includes controlling access to money, running up debt in a partner's name, and monitoring spending, is a form of coercive control. Ms Rigby visited Lloyds Banking Group to see how the lender has partnered with Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) to establish a dedicated Domestic and Financial Abuse team supporting affected customers.
Among the firms invited are Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander, and the Financial Conduct Authority. The meeting will focus on raising awareness and implementing processes to help victim-survivors regain control of their finances. Ms Rigby said: “Economic abuse is all about control and it can devastate lives. But by focusing on what firms can do to help end this pervasive practice, we can help change economic abuse victims’ lives.”
One survivor, Natalie, described the long-term impact: “When you’re left with vast debt your abuser ran up in your name, it’s like they are still abusing you.” She was supported by SEA and Lloyds under the Financial Abuse Code. Progress already made includes non-geographic sort codes to prevent location tracking and bank branch Safe Spaces for confidential support. Sam Smethers, CEO of SEA, said: “A supportive response from banks and insurers can be life-changing and life-saving.”
