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Around 1.5m households have no bank account. Of these, some 1.2m are social housing tenants, it said.

Richard Newcombe, the report's author, argued that housing associations were in a strong position to promote and deliver financial products to excluded tenants. But the take-up rate of such schemes was slow and not sufficiently widespread to make a real difference.

"These schemes have the potential to make a huge impact on financially excluded tenants, but in order for them to work, many more housing associations must pick up these ideas," Newcombe said.

The report looked into three models of partnership betwen lenders and RSLs: basic bank accounts, guarantee funds, and community reinvestment trusts.

Though different in structure and potential, all three offered solutions to the problems of tenants who are ignored by the financial services industry.

Under the basic bank account scheme tenants are introduced to banking services by the housing association. They can get assistance with opening accounts, or setting up loans.

The guarantee fund scheme aims to encourage savings and remove barriers to borrowing for people on low incomes.

Tenants can have access to loans without security.

The third model, the community reinvestment trust, would mean creating a new kind of banking organisation.

Set up by an RSL and a lender, the enterprise would require considerable effor and significant start up and capital funding, the report warned.

The slow take up of existing schemes to combat financial exclusion was blamed on the difference in the working culture of banks and social landlords.

Banks were surprised by the length of time it took associations to reach decisions and for projects to get off the ground, while RSLs were amazed by the degree of regulation.

But the report argued that both parties stood to gain – not least lenders, who could improve their competitive position with housing associations when negotiating loan finance.

It recommended that the corporation should be given powers to fund such partnership schemes and called on it to join the National Housing Federation in establishing a new network of housing associations promoting financial inclusion.