Bank of Dave: Fighting the Fat Cats

In July a minibus dealer from Burnley laid out his plans for better banking in Britain in the Channel 4 series Bank of Dave. The programmes followed David Fishwick’s attempt to open a tiny bank in his home town to offer local people an alternative to the big banks. When the show aired David Fishwick became an overnight hero and showed how banking could be so much better.

In this film the cameras return to Burnley to find out what Dave did next. The day after the show aired local people queued to put money into Dave’s care and the world’s press flocked to Burnley to see his ‘bank’ in action.  

Politicians from all sides were quick to jump on Dave’s banking bus to show their support and praise his common sense. Hailed by many as the ‘People’s Banker’, Dave received letters pleading for him to open a ‘bank’ in other towns too. But not everyone was a fan of Dave and his little ‘bank’, The FSA which regulates the banking industry had its’ own nasty surprise in store.

In the five months since he was last on screen has Dave managed to get the banking world to listen? Have the naysayers of the banking world eaten their words? Has the promised support of the politicians turned into real policy reform? And was Dave able to stand up to the regulator and keep his tiny local ‘bank’ open for business?

Production Company: Finestripe Productions

Executive Producer: Katie Lander

Series Producer, Director and filmed by: Ian Lilley