Bank Of Dave is a heartwarming film about a remarkable true story coming to Netflix. Boasting an all-star British cast including Rory Kinnear, Joel Fry, Hugh Bonneville and Phoebe Dynevor, Bank Of Dave tells the story of working-class Burnley man and self-made millionaire Dave Fishwick.
In 2011 Dave set up a community bank to lend money to small local businesses and residents in Burnley, Lancashire, in order to stop them from being ripped off by payday loans companies.
Directed by Cold Feet’s Chris Foggin, the inspiring and heartwarming drama shows how Dave, played by No Time to Die actor Rory Kinnear, took on the archaic financial institutions of London to be granted the first new banking license to be issued in more than 100 years.
“To have a global movie made in Burnley about such an important part of my life, is truly amazing,” says Dave Fishwick. “I was overwhelmed when I was approached with the idea. It’s incredibly exciting.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the film Bank Of Dave on Netflix…
Bank Of Dave release date
Bank Of Dave launches worldwide on Netflix on Monday January 16 2023.
Is there a trailer for Bank Of Dave?
There's no Bank Of Dave trailer yet but if Netflix release one for this movie we’ll post it here. Dave Fishwick says it’s “fantastic” to be played by Rory Kinnear, so he can’t wait to see him step into the role and neither can we. In the meantime do watch the trailer for the 2012 TV documentary Bank Of Dave about Dave Fishwick and his big idea to give you a flavour of what the movie will be about...
Bank Of Dave plot
Bank Of Dave is a biopic that follows the story of Dave Fishwick, who in the wake of the 2008 credit crunch started his own banking initiative so he could lend money to small businesses in his hometown of Burnley, Lancashire, in North West England.
He had no experience in banking but that didn’t faze him and he gladly took on the traditional big financial institutions of London in order to secure a banking license. Dave then helped countless small businesses get up and running. The story is based on Dave Fishwick’s memoir Bank of Dave: How I Took on the Banks.
Fishwick who, after leaving school with no qualifications, made his fortune selling minibuses. When he noticed orders drying up because his customers were unable to borrow money from the big banks, Dave Fishwick started loaning money to them on an ad hoc basis before coming up with his big idea.
"I never had any desire to be a banker," admits the 51-year-old Dave Fishwick. ‘But once the credit crunch hit in 2008, these people couldn’t get a loan from the banks, and that threatened to be a very big problem for my business. So I thought maybe I could open a tiny bank to serve the local community. How hard could it be??
The film, which co-stars Yesterday’s Joel Fry as Dave Fishwick’s London lawyer Hugh, Hugh Bonneville as a high-ranking aristocratic financier, and Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor as local doctor Alexandra, reveals that the answer was ‘very hard indeed’.
Dave Fishwick soon discovered that no new banking licence had been issued in over 100 years, and in order to obtain one he would have to come up with a vast sum of money.
"The Financial Services Authority wouldn't even meet me unless I put millions of pounds in a protected account with them,’ he explains. ‘The tiny bank I wanted to create was never going to need that much security, but their demands meant that there was no chance of me getting a banking licence."
As retold in Bank of Dave, Fishwick’s quest runs alongside a fish-out-of-water romance between Hugh and Alexandra, and sees local rock legends Def Leppard play a part in making his dream come true. Ultimately Fishwick did open his own bank – which, despite the film’s title, is actually called Burnley Savings and Loans – in a former florist’s shop, deciding that all the profits should go to charity.
"This is not about adding more zeroes to my net wealth,’ he reveals. ‘After all, you can only drive one car at a time or go on one holiday at a time. Sometimes you just have to stand up and make a difference."
But despite the happy ending, Dave Fishwick is still concerned about what his experience says about the banking industry and the financial regulators.
"This whole process has felt like jumping off a cliff and building a plane on the way down," he says. "Hopefully, thanks to what I have learned, other people will at least have some of the tools to change how we bank in Britain. My dream is for small "banks" like mine to spring up all over the country, and to go back to a system of banking that's focused on people, not bonuses."
Bank Of Dave cast — Rory Kinnear as Dave Fishwick
Rory plays community-minded millionaire Dave Fishwick. He also stars as Bill Tanner in the Bond movies Skyfall and No Time to Die. Rory played real-life neo Nazi Colin Jordan in Ridley Road and Lord Lucan in the ITV miniseries Lucan. He's also starred in Women In Love, Penny Dreadful, Our Flag Means Death, Catherine the Great, Years and Years, The Imitation Game and The Casual Vacancy.
* Take a look at Rory Kinnear talking about Bank Of Dave on The One Show...
Who else is starring in Bank Of Dave?
There's a great British cast in Bank Of Dave. Joel Fry (Game of Thrones, Plebs) stars as young London lawyer Hugh who’s hired by Dave to fight his case, while Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor plays Alexandra, the fiery local doctor, and After Life’s Jo Hartley is Dave’s wife Nicola.
Downton Abbey and I Came By star Hugh Bonneville and Paul Kaye also star, playing wealthy financier Sir Charles and Rick Purdey respectively, and look out for legendary rock band Def Leppard, who also make an appearance in the film!
All about the real Dave Fishwick
Born in March 1971, local Burnley man Dave Fishwick made his money when he founded a van, minibus and accessible vehicles company. In 2011 he set up Burnley Savings and Loans in order to help small businesses and people in the Lancashire town who couldn’t secure loans from bigger banks.
His quest was the centre of the 2012 documentary series Bank of Dave, where he gave himself 180 days to set up the bank and make a profit. At the time he said, “I am just Dave from Burnley who sells a few buses. People do say it is ordinary people who do extraordinary things and that is probably me. My bank may be tiny but it will be better than a High Street bank. Hard-working and honest people can no longer get loans. I can’t do much worse than the greedy and reckless banks."
The company gives its profits to charity rather than giving out bonuses and by 2022 had lent more than £27 million to thousands of people and businesses. Dave has also fronted The Shoppers Guide to Saving Money and is a financial expert on Your Money and Your Life.
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