Here are HEYCU we’ve now ‘resurfaced’ after the most hectic
Christmas season ever! We issued the
highest ever number and value of loans as well as record pay outs of Christmas Savers
- £806,000 in fact. On top of all that
we had our year-end accounts to put to bed and an AGM to arrange. So a big well done to our staff and volunteer
family for coping so well and keeping the ship on course.
Here’s a round-up of the past few months’ activity:
OUR AGM

Thank you to members attending for their great feedback: All had
found attending a positive experience and we will ask for the chairs to be
spread out a little more next time.
£100,000 SHARE OUT

WHY DISBAND THE CREDIT COMMITTEE?

Before long that was no longer practical, and we appointed staff
loan officers with the professional knowledge to underwrite loans, following
policies set by the Committee and Board.
Gradually the Credit Committee’s role moved on from making loan
decisions to one of oversight – checking that its policies were working and
tweaking them as necessary. The Board of
Directors became more involved in loan strategy too, as we made growing the
loan book a key part of our annual business plan, recognising that it is a
major driver of our future sustainability.
As in many credit unions of our size the need for a Credit
Committee had passed and the AGM agreed to disband it (in line with the Rules),
with a big “thank you” to all members who had served it so diligently over the
years.
AIMING HIGHER

We are currently consulting with staff, volunteers and our local
member groups to select our 2019 Charity
of the Year, so watch this space!
REFER A FRIEND PRIZE DRAW
In the run up to Christmas we encouraged members who were happy
with our services to ‘refer a friend’ and many did so. Our computer randomly selected two lucky
members – Simone Priestman of Greatfield, Hull and Helen Harper of Newport,
Brough – to each win a £50 shopping
voucher. Just in time for those New Year
Sales!
BUSY WINTER IN WINTERTON

WITHERNSEA NEXT!
Last time we mentioned our ambitious plans to make Withernsea a
Credit Union Town. We’ve now received
approval from the funding body, Big Local, to recruit a Development Worker to
spearhead our expansion project. As I
write the closing date for the role has passed and we hope an appointment will
soon be made. We know the local
community is very enthusiastic about it; as usual we are taking a different
approach to the big banks who are retreating from such towns at an ever faster
pace.
LINCOLNSHIRE CO-OP SUPPORT FAIR FINANCE

OUR MEMBERS’ LOTTERY
One way that our own members can support our ongoing development is
by joining our Members’ Lottery. For just £1 a ticket, deducted monthly from
your savings account, you get the chance to share in a monthly prize fund of
around £600. The top prize is usually
£250, with several others ranging from £75 to £10. At Christmas time there are triple prizes to win! 60% of the ticket proceeds are paid out,
with the rest supporting our training and development activities. We are grateful to the Hull Branch of UNISON, the public service union, for kindly
sponsoring some prizes again throughout 2019.
ENGAGE ACCOUNT RELAUNCH
With the coming of the Universal Credit benefit system to Hull and
East Yorkshire, many more people are needing a transactional banking facility,
to help them manage their monthly benefit payments, and some would clearly
prefer to bank with their local credit union.
Although we can no longer offer our own Current Account, we work with a
partner called Engage
to provide a VISA card, exclusive to credit union members, with many useful
features. We’ve recently relaunched
this account, with a lower monthly fee of £2.99. Find out more here.
BIG ANNIVERSARY YEAR

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

However, we have reached the point where we need to think about our
trading identity and how relevant it is to all our members. Our official name is, and will remain Hull & East Yorkshire Credit Union. But perhaps it’s time to consider a different
trading name – one that: is relevant and acceptable across all parts of our
common bond; is short and simple to fit easily on to shop fronts, posters and
leaflets; but pays due regard to our proud heritage (ie where we first began).
We have therefore started to experiment with using HEY Credit Union in our communications,
and would be interested to have your feedback on this. One member called it a “cool name”, saying it
acknowledges our roots but in a modern way.
Changing a trading name is not to be done lightly – as lots of
businesses have found to their cost – especially when we’ve worked hard to
build up a respected brand. But, this is
your credit union, and we’d really welcome your views as we approach our 20th
anniversary.
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