The conference looks at one of the key pillars of community finance – ‘community development financial institutions’, many of which are more popularly known as credit unions. How can CDFIs make a real difference? This event begins with a survey of the market within which they operate, looking at the burden of domestic personal debt, the perennial problem of predatory lending and the national policies and strategies which seek to put poor people ‘back in the black’. The conference then moves on to whether Britain’s CDFIs are actually combating social exclusion. It also considers whether the government’s neighbourhood renewal strategy could be undermined by the persistence of unpayable personal debt, and whether the strategy – focused as it is on relatively small areas – is at all compatible with the work of CDFIs. In the afternoon session, a panel of key service providers and opinion formers will debate: ‘ Is it now time for a nationwide experiment in credit union provision? With senior government representatives, and with the audience.