JOHN'S BLOG - SEPTEMBER 2019

As summer fades into autumn and Hull Fair Week comes into view, there’s lots going on at HEY Credit Union, so here’s a round-up of our news.…

FRESH NEW LOOK AT HULL CENTRAL

After eight years of pretty intensive daily use, our main city centre branch was looking rather tired and so it was time for a refit.  We’ve made a modest investment in a new welcome desk, consultation pods, new oak flooring and fresh décor.  To complete the new look, we’re planning some historical and modern images of Hull to give a bright and cheerful ambience for members visiting.  

Next time you are in town, do pop in and see us – we hope you’ll like our new look!

GOOLE BRANCH ON THE MOVE

Our popular branch is moving down the street as it marks its 10^thanniversary in the town.

We’re relocating from 22 Pasture Road, our home since September 2009, to Unit 6 at the Old Station Hotel, Pasture Road DN14 6BP by Monday 23 September.

I explained to the Goole Times: “We have been very happy at 22 Pasture Road for the past ten years but now it is time for a change.  Our new branch is just down the road from the existing one, closer to the junction with Boothferry Road, but on the opposite side of the road.  It is very easy to see from the town centre and railway station.”

Jo, our Goole Development Officer, and her colleague Jean, have been busy preparing for the move.  Jo said, “Credit unions are owned by their members and we have a Local Members’ Group in Goole which takes a keen interest in promoting the branch.  One of their big concerns this year has been access for people with disabilities, mums with prams and those with limited mobility.  We’ve listened and I think they will be pleased with the result.  We look forward to welcoming members, old and new, to our new branch when it opens.”

WITHERNSEA EXCITED BY OUR PLANS

I was pleased to be invited to speak to a well-attended public meeting in the Shores recently.  We’re partnered with Withernsea Big Localto tackle financial exclusion by providing access to safe savings, affordable credit and sensible money management through expanding our local branch.  In short, making Withernsea a Credit Union Town.

At Big Local’s annual public meeting, Matt Lloyd (Withernsea Credit Union Champion) and I reported that their social investment is already bearing fruit.   So far, we’ve increased staff and volunteer time, established a fully serviced office, more than doubled opening times, made links with community groups, run stalls at events like the Summer Carnival and Withstock (including a notable appearance by Penny the pennywise penguin), and provided a faster easier experience

for our members.  Wow!  In the first six months, we’ve seen active membership in the town grow by 16%, total savings increase by 11% while the loan book has expanded by a whopping 109%.  We reckon that by taking a CU Loan instead of using a doorstep lender, the people of Withernsea are already saving over £25,000 a year in interest charges.  

We’re planning to work with the High School on financial education, and to also open a Local Members’ Group -a forum for members to meet to enjoy fun quizzes and CU games, hear our news and discuss ideas for promoting the branch.   If you live in Withernsea and would like to join, contact Matt (mlloyd@hullandeycu.co.uk).

DRIFFIELD VOLUNTEERS RETIRE

Last Wednesday I attended a pleasant event in Driffield to mark the retirement of three of our longest serving volunteers – Ross Weekes, Liz Weekes and Anne Anderson.  The “intrepid trio” were founder members of Driffield Branch back in 2005 and have done much to support its development, including the highly successful school banks, ever since.   With over 1,000 members and juniors now in Driffield, as the Branch Leader Debbie said, “they have left a strong legacy.” 

OUR CHARITY OF THE YEAR UPDATE

A big thank you to everyone who sponsored Kathryn, Steve and me to do the 20K Hornsea Mere Circular walkback in July. Tying this into our 20^thAnniversary, we decided to walk one kilometre for each year of the Credit Union’s life.  Hence, it was an unusual and slightly dizzy experience covering the course twice (a bit like the Grand National?) but we got there, and with your help, raised a tidy £375 for HEY Credit Union’s Charity of the Year – Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

NORTHERN LINCOLNSHIRE PROGRESS

We’ve had a busy summer at Scunthorpe branch too.  We’re working with social landlords Ongo Homes, to promote our services to their tenants and their staff family. Tracey ran an information stall at the Ongo Carnival in August, and then we met with Ongo staff at their new town centre HQ on 9^thSeptember to tell them about the well-being benefits of simple saving and affordable credit with HEYCU direct from your pay.

Meanwhile, over at Winterton Patrick has been working hard to establish “Credit Union Wednesday” as part of the local scene. That’s the day when he provides one-to-one sessions at either the Hub or the Cornerstone Café, a contact point in the Co-op store, and a school bank at the Infants & Juniors School.  Thanks to our pro-active partnership with Winterton 2022 Big Local, we’ve enjoyed lots of success, with around 32 school savers, more adults joining and an increasing local loan book.

MPS VISIT CENTRAL OFFICE

You may be forgiven for thinking the life of an MP is endless Brexit these days.  Our Hull MPs Diana Johnson and Karl Turner disproved that when they paid us a fact finding visit in August, as part of our 20^thAnniversary celebrations.  After meeting staff and directors for an office tour, we gave a “potted history” and set out our ideal “shopping list” for a future Government.  It included a desire for legal changes to permit credit unions to offer a wider product range (such as credit cards and motor finance), to help more people to benefit from our member-driven not-for-profit services.  We’d also like it to be made mandatory for employers to offer credit union payroll deduction to their staff as a proven financial wellbeing benefit.  

Our MPs showed genuine interest and I am sure it greatly helps them to know about the work of credit unions when consumer finance topics are aired in the House of Commons.  We might even get a mention perhaps in a future parliamentary debate!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

We hardly dare mention it but it happens every year! If you need some extra support to cope with festive season financial stress, turn to us.  A Credit Union Christmas Loanspreading the cost over a year is far cheaper than other small loan options including doorstep credit:

Lender	Loan £ over 52 weeks	Repayments per week £	Interest %APR	Total to repay £
Morses Club*	£400	£14.00	272.2%	£728.00
Provident*	£400	£14.40	299.3%	£748.80
Credit Union*	£400	£9.20	42.6%	£477.54

*information taken from websites, correct as at 15.8.19

Remember, you can save with us as you repay, helping you to build up a handy sum for the future.   Our Child Benefit Loan & Savings Plan option offers an ideal way for families to stretch their money further and was mentioned on BBC Radio 4’s MoneyBox programme recently.

Contact us in branch, at www.hullandeycu.co.ukor 01482 778753 to find out more.

December is here!

Christmas Savings reach record high

Our members once again beat previous records in 2015, with total collective savings of £613,000 in their Christmas Saver accounts (last year's figure was just over half a million).   Of course that doesn't reflect the total funds saved up for Christmas as many members use our Instant Access accounts for that purpose (the ones with enough will power to resist dipping in presumably!). 

This tremendous result reflects the efforts we’ve put into promoting Christmas planning in recent years and the enthusiastic way our members have responded to the call.    Many families will surely be glad they did and as a result fewer will dread the arrival of those post-Christmas credit card bills or be tempted to take out high-cost short-term credit to pay for it. 

Since the Christmas Savers were "unlocked" on 1st November, our staff have paid out £470,000 and are still busy responding to requests.  Happy Christmas everyone!

AGM 2015

I am looking forward to our AGM next Tuesday - the 8th December - in Hull's historic Guildhall, starting at 5.45 pm.   For me, it is like a big annual "family gathering" when members of our Credit Union family come together to review all we have achieved, discuss our progress and announce our exciting plans for the year ahead.

Our AGM gives us a chance to show members and guests just what we do and share news and information about our products, services and the people who make it all happen - our wonderful staff, volunteer and partner team.

I do hope you’ll be able to come.  If you aim to arrive a little early, there will be some food and drink, (from 5.15 pm) and an opportunity to mingle with other members.   We will have our ever popular Fairtrade stall to entice you with festive gifts and treats, plus a free raffle and maybe even some goodies to share out as a "thank you" for coming.

The directors and I look forward to seeing you there!

Northern Lincolnshire Partnership Officer

We're delighted to announce the appointment of Carmel Seston as our Partnership Officer for Northern Lincolnshire.

Carmel is very experienced in financial services, the world of education and the voluntary sector.  As a primary school teacher she used resources provided by PFEG to introduce financial capability into the school curriculum.  With Irish family roots, Carmel has always been familiar with credit unions, which are found everywhere in Ireland.  During 2015 she has been our East Riding Project Officer, working to establish school savings clubs on the north bank, a role which will run alongside her new duties.

Carmel has already started working with the Winterton 2022 project to develop school banks and community contact points in the town of Winterton.  She will also support our growing partnerships with the Ongo Group, North Lincolnshire Council and North Lindsey College.  I know she has already met many members of the Northern Lincolnshire community and we wish her every success in her new role.

School Banks News

Our new Pennies 2 Pounds bank at Appleton Primary School in Hull had a fantastic launch with 28 savers joining on the first day.

Pennies 2 Pounds Christmas Card Competition

·        The schools team ran a competition among the P2P schools to colour a Christmas Card, which attracted 24 entries.  The winners of a selection box and £5 HEYCU savings voucher were:

·        Key stage 1 - Leah Pearson (Northfield Primary)

·        Key stage 2 – Abigail Little (Roos Primary).

·        Everyone who entered will be receiving a party bag in the next week or so, with our thanks for taking part.

Credit Unions meet to prepare for transformation

HEYCU joined other credit unions entering the transformation phase of the Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP) in Manchester for a special conference last week.  Over 70 delegates from 35 credit unions attended.
The Transformation Programme will see credit unions like ours introduce a new range of modern products, services and access channels for our members during 2016.
The conference began with a special message from Lord Freud reiterating the UK Government’s ongoing support for the credit union sector, and the Chair of Cornerstone Mutual Services, Lord Hunt, welcomed credit unions to the event.
Delegates then enjoyed a packed programme of presentations and workshops on topics ranging from the automated lending system known as PowerCurve, how to prepare for migration, credit union governance and the marketing support available for transforming credit unions.
The CUEP is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) won the contract to deliver it. CUEP is managed by Cornerstone Mutual Services,  ABCUL’s subsidiary company.
ABCUL Chief Executive Mark Lyonette said: “Credit unions have made a very significant commitment in signing up for transformation, and there is a clear determination to deliver products and access channels that will attract and serve a new generation of credit union members.
“As credit unions continue to engage with the project, 2016 promises to be a momentous year for Britain’s credit union movement.”

Board Assessment

Our members may not be aware of all the work that goes on “behind the scenes” to make sure our Credit Union is governed in the best possible way.

Each year HEYCU's directors conduct a self-evaluation survey, to help them monitor how well they perform as a board, and as individual directors, and discover any areas for improvement.   Each director completes a questionnaire which is then sent confidentially to an independent assessor, who collates all the results and presents them with an Assessment Report.  The annual survey has now run for three years, so it's possible to observe trends in each area.  

The areas covered and a summary of the Assessor’s latest findings are:

·        Board performance - here the overall score was 85% in 2013; 85.2% in 2014 and 88.2% in 2015, showing that the directors feel the Board is working together better than ever.

·        Strategic management - 2014's big increase has been maintained, reflecting the significant work done on two major projects - the North Lincs CU merger and the Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP)

·        Board governance - the score is up to 82% this year (80.7% in 2014) and only dented slightly by some concerns about lack of diversity in the Board's membership.

·        Individual director performance - an average score of 87.7% (84% in 2014) shows a confident and accomplished team of directors who really do perform well together.

·        When asked what issues had occupied the Board this year, most directors quoted CUEP, the merger, business planning and the loans strategy, with the merger being the stand out success they took special satisfaction from.  Diversity and a good mix of skills are key areas they feel need addressing, while in the coming year they feel the board should focus specially on increasing the Credit Union’s loan activity, CUEP and attracting new members.

The Assessor summed up his report with "Volunteer directors are not easy to keep motivated and focused yet the results of three years of surveying board performances show evidence of consistency that would impress the staunchest Investors in People assessors."  "The leadership of HEYCU must take some credit for the creation of a cohesive board team" and "this survey ... allows greater scrutiny of the workings of the Board of Directors than many similar businesses would allow".   

We hope our member-owners take some pride in these findings, but we will not rest in our aim of working towards world class standards of governance here at HEYCU.

Business Start-up Loans

Do you know anyone who is planning to start their own business, or who has been running one for less than two years? If so, why not tell them about our Business Start-up Loan?   It could be just what is needed to put their new business on the ladder of success.

Applicants can be considered for loans of up to £25,000 per business, repayable over 12 to 60 months.   The interest rate is a very competitive 6.19% APR.  

We can also make available free mentoring and other special offers.

Applications are open to most kinds of businesses – we know for example that people are thinking about the business opportunities that Hull City of Culture 2017 and beyond will bring.

For details of the information we will require to consider a loan please visit our web page.

Member Satisfaction Survey Q&As

Here's another question that a member raised in this year's Member Survey and our response:

Q:  Could members be informed if their money would be better in a higher interest account?

A:  As a Credit Union we are not allowed to advertise rates of interest on dividend-bearing savings accounts.  Returns on different accounts are in the form of a dividend (share of profits) which is declared at the AGM in December each year and posted to accounts the next day.  On our website we show the dividends paid on each account over the last few years, so that members have an idea of past returns (although these cannot be a guarantee of future returns).  The savings accounts we offer have slightly different terms and conditions (some are instant access; others have limits on withdrawals etc) so members can judge for themselves which one is best for their needs.

Get organised for Christmas 2016

Get organised for next Christmas with our special Saver account - an ideal way to save for the festive season 

·        Be prepared and save in advance

·        Easy ways to pay in whenever you like

·        We’ll look after your money safely 

If you've never had a Christmas Saver with us before, we'll match your first deposit up to £10 when you open one.   If you live in Northern Lincolnshire, your friend can also earn £5 for referring you!