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Tees Valley offers tenants the affordable credit and encourages savings with the 'Helping Hands Saving and Loans' scheme.
Tees Valley Housing Group wanted to help tenants avoid doorstep lenders and loan sharks charging extortionate interest rates. So it joined up with Darlington Building Society to launch the 'Helping Hands Saving and Loans' Scheme. Other partners include Endeavour Housing Association, Guinness Trust, Home Housing Association and North British Housing Association. The £50,000 guarantee fund we all provided gives savers a high interest rate and a borrowing rate of just 1% above the bank of England base rate. Savers can open accounts with as little as £1, up to a maximum of £5,000. Borrowers can borrow four times the amount of their savings balance, the maximum loan is £500. Loans can be paid back over 12 or 24 months. For more information contact Rob Thompson, Housing Co-ordinator, on 01642 261100.
