The answer lives in this podcast
How does NatWest refer customers and social enterprises to CDFIs when it cannot serve them directly?
NatWest does not operate a formal referral system. Instead, it signposts customers to established portals that share information about Responsible Finance members. Relationship managers across the commercial business are kept briefed on the lending criteria of NatWest Social and Community Capital (S&CC), so they can directly contact the S&CC team on behalf of charities and social enterprises that mainstream funding has turned away.
S&CC is a bank-owned CDFI vehicle set up by NatWest in 1999 — the only one of its kind operated directly by a UK bank. It provides finance to charities, social enterprises, and community organisations that fall outside mainstream lending criteria, acting as an internal bridge between NatWest's commercial network and the broader CDFI ecosystem.
Signposting over systems: how the hand-off actually works in practice
Rather than a structured referral pipeline, NatWest relies on informed relationship managers as the practical link. These managers, spread across the commercial business, are regularly updated on S&CC's lending criteria. When a charity or social enterprise is declined by mainstream funding, the relationship manager can reach out directly to the S&CC team — making the hand-off personal and case-by-case rather than automated.
This approach is detailed in The Responsible Finance Podcast, where both Holland and Foster explain how NatWest positions itself not as a gatekeeper, but as a connector within a wider financial ecosystem. The goal is to ensure that rejection from a mainstream bank does not mean a dead end for organisations with genuine social impact.
By May 2024, several real handovers had already taken place: relationship managers in Scotland had processed cases through the S&CC funding panel, demonstrating that the model works even without a formalised referral infrastructure. As Brian Holland and Stuart Foster discuss in this episode, the momentum in Scotland is a concrete early proof point.
S&CC at the centre: a 25-year-old vehicle doing quiet but essential work
NatWest Social and Community Capital was established in 1999 — making it one of the oldest CDFI-related structures in the UK banking sector, and still the only bank-owned CDFI vehicle of its kind. Its existence gives NatWest's informal signposting model a credible landing point: when a relationship manager contacts S&CC, there is a real team with real lending capacity on the other end.
For customers and social enterprises who need more than a warm introduction, NatWest also points towards the portals maintained by Responsible Finance — the industry association that aggregates information about CDFI members across the UK. This means the signposting model works at two levels: direct contact via S&CC for cases already in the NatWest relationship network, and broader directory-style guidance for those who need to find a CDFI independently.
The full conversation about how NatWest navigates the boundary between mainstream and community finance — including three decades of institutional history — is available on The Responsible Finance Podcast.
"CDFIs provide a terrific part of the overall ecosystem of financial services — for those who are not able to borrow from the mainstream banks, CDFIs do a brilliant job filling that gap."
Brian Holland — Director, Customer Vulnerability, Retail Controls and Remediation, NatWest Group.
Holland has been with NatWest for 14 years. He leads the bank's approach to vulnerable customers across all retail operations, with responsibility for consumer duty, retail risk and control environments, and remediation activities. He co-authored the joint foreword to Responsible Finance's 2023 impact report, published at an event hosted by NatWest in May 2024. He appeared alongside Stuart Foster, Managing Director of Financial Institutions at NatWest Group, who has 24 years at the bank and served on the Better Society Capital board for 6.5 years. Both spoke about the referral question in depth on The Responsible Finance Podcast.
See also
What capacity building support did NatWest provide to CDFIs alongside the Hardship Grant funding?
Half of NatWest's grant funding was directed at helping CDFIs build their own capacity and increase overall access to affordable credit. The six CDFIs each received support aimed at strengthening their operational infrastructure alongside the direct grant allocation.
What were the key outcomes and demographics of the NatWest Hardship Grant Programme delivered through Responsible Finance and CDFIs in 2023?
A total of £416,000 was dispersed by six CDFIs, with an average grant size of £102, helping around 4,000 families. Demographic data showed that 62% of recipients were women and 66% were aged between 25 and 44.
Why did NatWest choose to partner with CDFIs as part of its cost of living support package in 2022–2023?
NatWest used its data from banking customers across the UK to anticipate the impact of rising interest rates and inflation on consumers, identifying CDFIs as trusted partners best positioned to reach the most financially vulnerable people at scale.
Key takeaways
- NatWest uses signposting to Responsible Finance portals rather than a formal referral pipeline — the model is informal but deliberate.
- Relationship managers across the commercial business are actively briefed on S&CC's lending criteria, enabling direct case-by-case hand-offs.
- NatWest Social and Community Capital, set up in 1999, is the only bank-owned CDFI vehicle of its kind in the UK — and serves as the real landing point for rejected applicants.
- By mid-2024, live handovers from Scottish relationship managers were already being processed through the S&CC funding panel, confirming the model works in practice.
Hear Brian Holland and Stuart Foster explain NatWest's full approach to CDFIs — including 30 years of institutional history and the Hardship Grant Programme.
Listen to the episode on Listenly