Should Financial Services Profits Pay a Dividend to Society?

Editorial Calendar World-Region-Country Should Financial Services Profits Pay a Dividend to Society? Fair4All Finance, the not-for-profit set up in 2019 to improve access to fair and affordable financial services, puts the number of people in financially vulnerable circumstances in the UK at more than 20 million. The contributed piece below asks whether the sector’s profitability carries an obligation to narrow that gap, and what a measurable answer would look like.

Kate Penderis chief executive of Fair4All Finance, the not-for-profit financial inclusion organisation. She was appointed to the role in September 2024, having previously been its deputy chief executive and director of growth and development, and before joining spent twenty years in economic development and small business support. The article that follows sets out her opinion.

UK banks and insurers have reported strong profits, a sign of a sector that has rebuilt resilience since the financial crisis and is once again delivering robust returns for shareholders. Total full year 2025 profits from the UK’s main high street banks and major insurers stand at over £53 billion, a significant increase from £37.4 billion in 2021. These numbers have been backed by the latest CBI survey showing financial services business volumes rebounded in the first quarter of 2026 at the fastest rate since December 1996.

Yet over 20 million people remain financially vulnerable, with too little savings to absorb a shock, too few affordable options when they need credit, and a significant protection gap in insurance cover. We must therefore conclude that the system is not working for everyone. A healthy financial system should be able to deliver resilience and returns, while expanding access to affordable credit, savings and protection.

The issue is not profitability itself, but whether inclusion is embedded in how that profit is generated and whether the benefits of a