The 18,000-member London Community Credit Union (LCCU), one of London's largest credit unions, has gone into administration and been put into default by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme will now step in to ensure the members of LCCU get their money returned.

The FSCS said it was expecting total compensation for the 18,335 members of the East London-based credit union to cost it around £15.4m within the next seven working days.

LCCU (FRN: 213743) is a financial co-operative owned by its members.

Credit unions provide banking, loan and saving services, often to those at lower income levels with limited access to High Street banks.

According to Bank of England statistics, UK credit unions had total liquid assets of £1.242bn in 2023 with loans to members of £2.338bn. 

Members of the LCCU with a valid email address registered to their account can request their FSCS compensation either by cheque or direct bank transfer via the online FSCS Payments Portal.

Members will receive an email from the FSCS linking to the portal if they are eligible.

For those without a valid email address on their account, the FSCS will send a cheque within seven working days.

Sarah Marin, chief customer officer at FSCS said: “We want to reassure customers of London Community Credit Union that their money is safe.

“FSCS protects people’s savings up to £85,000 and we’re committed to making sure customers can access their money and get back on track as quickly as possible when a credit union goes out of business.”

LCCU members are spread across the London boroughs but most have links to east London. It had branches in Stratford, Hackney, Bethnal Green and Poplar. The credit union offered a range of savings accounts, current accounts and loans. It is one of the larger credit unions to fail in recent years.

James Sleight and Stratford Hamilton of PKF Littlejohn Advisory Limited have been appointed as joint administrators.

In its announcement of LCCU being placed into administration, the Financial Conduct Authority reminded the credit union’s members that they should remain alert to the possibility of fraud.

The regulator said that if they are cold called by someone claiming to be from the credit union, administrator, or the FCA, they should end the call and contact the FCA directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.