CREDIT UNION DEVELOPMENT - FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION

For a special edition of Geoforum on socio-spatial exclusion, credit u nions unexpectedly have it all-a financial institution currently at th e margins of both the economy and society generally, rigid demarcation of boundaries, exclusionary territories and tendencies, power relatio ns, and most excitingly the possibility for a geography of financial i nclusion. Whilst most analyses have effectively treated credit unions as unsocial, uncontested spaces of purely economic considerations, thi s paper enters into the interrelational, and social space of the credi t union study group. In so doing, it illustrates two interesting parad oxes at the heart of credit union operations. Firstly, it suggests a n umber of potential exclusionary effects recent deregulatory legislatio n has on the demarcation of common bond boundaries. Secondly, it illus trates how common bond boundary construction initiates a purification of financial space, but argues that the act of boundary formation itse lf is ultimately exclusionary in nature. Awareness of such issues on t he part of the credit union development community of Kingston Upon Hul l is-highlighted through recent changes in the city's overall credit u nion development strategy. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.