You may remember that five years ago that the Archbishop of Canterbury expressed his unhappiness with Wonga. He believed they sucked vital resources from low-income households, and saddled them with levels of debt they could not afford repay. When the Archbishop spoke those words, Wonga was hoping to float at a value of more than £770 million. Now it is valued at only £23 million. That is a staggering reduction.
What happened? The Financial Conduct Authority cracked down on the business. It imposed limits on the total debt that anyone could owe. This meant that the company needed to write off £220 million of debt. No one can be sorry that Wonga is not the force it was, but people on low incomes still need loans. That is not the end of the story. Next week will be saying more about the Just Finance Foundation, which Archbishop Justin is currently supporting in order to provide more access to financial resources for those in need. He is tying this in with Harvest Thanksgiving.