JOHN’S BLOG – MAY 2019

As ever, there’s a lot happening at HEY Credit Union, so it’s time to give our members and supporters an update on our progress!

Members, Savings and Loans all growing steadily    

We’re now past the half way stage of our financial year and it is good to see that we’re building on the excellent progress of 2018.  Membership (including Junior Savers) is up by 9% to almost 15,000, making us Britain’s 8^thlargest ABCUL credit union.  Savings are up by 5% year on year while our total loans are up by an amazing 32%.

Our Spring Loan Sale, with rates reduced by 15% on loans from £2,000 to £7,500, is attracting lots of attention.  If you have a project where it makes sense to spread the cost, do ask us for a quotation – we can and often do beat the rates available from High Street banks.

HEYCU Mobile App

Our new Mobile App is proving very popular and within the first month of its launch we’ve seen over 500 members register to use it, with more every week.  It’s another handy way that our members can check their credit union accounts, move funds (minimum £10), find a branch or get in touch.  Here is a link if you’d like to register for our Mobile App:

https://www.securecuserver.co.uk/~hulley/webapp/login.php

We are now making withdrawals and loan payments via Faster Payments, so the funds will usually be in your bank account the same day or early next day (except at weekends).   We’ve had some great feedback from members who’ve noticed the speedier service.

HEY – it’s your credit union!  

After consulting members via the recent Member Survey, we learnt that over 80% of you are happy with our proposed new trading name – HEY Credit Union.  The Board has agreed to roll it out this year.  Our registered name will still be Hull & East Yorkshire Credit Union, but as we now have hundreds of members living or working outside our traditional county boundaries, it makes sense to adopt a shorter nametag that is just as relevant to them as to our original founders.  

Our 20^thAnniversary    

Next month we reach an important milestone – it will be 20 years since a group of colleagues at Hull City Council came together as volunteers to found what is now HEY Credit Union!   We’re planning some special activities and events between the anniversary date – 10^thJune – and our AGM in December, including prize draws and a celebration event in September.  Keep your eyes peeled for news! 

Out and about     

I’ve been to a number of events recently to “fly the flag” for credit unions and make sure that our voice is heard.  On 7 May I was invited by the Co-operative Partyto a Roundtable Event at the Houses of Parliament, along with other credit union leaders from around Britain.  Jonathan Reynolds MP, Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, hosted the meeting which discussed the challenges and opportunities facing our movement and the support we would like to see from future governments to help it to grow and thrive as it has in the USA, Canada, Australia and Ireland. In the USA credit unions have been allowed to provide a wider range of consumer products such as credit cards and car loans for their members, which UK law doesn’t currently permit us to offer, and it is widely felt this is holding back UK credit unions from reaching their full potential as champions of responsible saving and borrowing.

Our President and I also attended the ABCUL Larger Credit Union Groupin Sheffield, which was hosted very well by a top credit union – Transave UK.  The sessions there were on a similar theme – how can we all work co-operatively to make sure we are delivering services relevant to the modern world and giving our members best value for money?   We also met with the Money and Pensions Service, to update them on the work credit unions are doing to support financial wellbeing in the workplace.

Mental Health Awareness Week

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week

As I write these notes there is a big focus on mental health.  People’s mental wellbeing is majorly affected by worries about money. It is said that 1 in 4 workers regularly lose sleep over money worries; perhaps not surprising when the Money Advice Service says more than half the adult population in regions such as Yorkshire & Humber and the North East have no more than £100 tucked away to stave off a financial crisis.  Credit unions like ours have shown we can help people to build up some useful savings through painless payroll deduction schemes at work.  We can turn borrowers into savers and help them achieve the financial resilience that makes those money worries go away.   If you’d like to save and borrow with us direct from your pay, why not ask your employer to contact us about starting a payroll partnership?  It costs nothing to operate but the benefits to employers and employees alike can be huge.

Withernsea – to be a Credit Union Town   

We’re thrilled that Withernsea Big Localhas entered into a three year partnership with us to expand our branch at The Shores, with extended opening times, better facilities and much more involvement with the local community.  We’ve appointed Matt Lloyd as our local Credit Union Champion and he is already busy making links with all kinds of organisations to make them aware of what we do. Our aim is to make Withernsea a Credit Union Town – one that says NO to high cost credit, NO to doorstep and payday lenders and loan sharks, but YES to affordable responsible credit, and YES to safe savings and common sense money.

We are keen to recruit some additional volunteers to help us.  Then we’ll be able to open longer, perhaps run a school savings bank and support more members.  Would you like to learn new skills, meet people and help the people of Withernsea?  If so, call Matt on 01964 615190 or email mlloyd@hullandeycu.co.uk– we’d love to hear from you.

Sunny summer activities in our Region

With summer on the way, it’s time to think about some activities to entertain the whole family, without breaking the bank. Some great things to look out for on your doorstep:

·      Visit The Deepin Hull – Yorkshire’s #1 aquarium, home to over 3,000 aquatic creatures

·      Hit the beach at Hornsea, and take in the sights and sounds of the beautiful coastal town

·      Climb the heights of Withernsea Lighthouse Museum. Standing at over 127m tall, it remains one of only a handful of lighthouses built inland, and is open to visitors

·      Get up close and personal with the world’s wildlife, at Bridlington Birds of Prey & Animal Park

·      Step into the past, at Grimsby’s Time Trap Museum, for an insight into what life was like before mobile phones and the internet!

Our Charity of the Year 

Don’t forget we are raising money this year for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.  We’ll be telling you next time about some new fundraising events for our members, staff and volunteers to get involved with.

Best wishes and thank you all for your support …

JOHN’S BLOG – JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

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  

We were pleased to welcome over 80 members and guests to Hull’s splendid Guildhall on 11 December. A big part of what makes credit unions so different from banks is the ability of member-customers to take part in shaping our future by asking questions of the Directors and voting on the big decisions.   As well as an increased dividend on savings, members voted to disband the Credit Committee and to extend our field of membership to include more Government departments and all who live or work in postcode area YO (North Yorkshire).

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

Following our much improved financial results we posted a dividend of 1% to all members’ savings accounts the day after the AGM – based on the average daily savings in the year ended 30 September 2018 – that’s nearly £100,000 from the rewards of mutual trading going back into the pockets of our members.   If we were a commercial business, the money would most likely have been sucked out of our community, away to the City of London or even a foreign tax haven!

WHY DISBAND THE CREDIT COMMITTEE?

At the AGM it was explained that the growth of the credit union and changes to the way loans are processed had reduced the need for a members’ committee.  When we started 20 years ago, each and every loan was looked at individually by the Credit Committee, who met specially on a Thursday evening to go through them.   On Friday mornings our office phone was red hot as members called in to find out if their loan had been granted! 

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 

A nice touch at the AGM was the presentation of £735 to our Charity of the Year, Aim Higher.  The funds raised by staff and members during 2018 will make a difference to the charity, which supports families challenged by mental health, autism and learning difficulties. It was my pleasure to meet some of them at their monthly drop in session at 171 High Street, Hull on 9 January, when I explained the different ways that we help families to make the most of their money, for instance Christmas saving, junior savings accounts and our Child Benefit Loans.

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 

The start of 2019 has seen a big increase in credit union activity in Winterton, North Lincolnshire where we have a weekly contact point in the Co-op Store, supported by Winterton 2022 Big Local project.  On 16 January we relaunched the Pennies 2 Pounds school bank at the Infants School which now takes place every Wednesday at the end of the school day.  Penny our pennywise penguin waddled into the opening session, much to the delight of the children, who received a piggy bank and £1 to start their savings off.  Patrick, our man in Winterton, is also presenting some money information sessions at the Hub and the Cornerstone Café on alternate weeks for the benefit of local residents.

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 

We are most grateful to our friends at Lincolnshire Co-op for including HEYCU in their current Community Champions.  The scheme is their way of giving back to local communities.  Since it launched in 2013 they’ve helped hundreds of local charities and groups, raising amounts from £200 to over £200,000.  Every time a Co-op member shops in their branches they make a donation to a good cause, chosen by their staff and members for a three month period.  The theme, from December 2018 to March 2019, is financial well-being and we are to benefit from donations made at Crowle, Bransholme and Molescroft Co-ops.  If in an area served by Lincolnshire Co-op, please support their stores – they are one of the UK’s leading Co-operative businesses.

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  

2019 is a very special year for our Credit Union – on 10^th June it will be  20 years since we were founded.  We are looking forward to celebrating this special anniversary with our members old and new.  If you have any bright ideas for ways that we might mark the occasion, please let us know!  We’ll keep you updated with our plans as the year unfolds.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? 

Our credit union has come a long way in 20 years and its shape and size is nothing like it was when formed, covering not only the entire Humber Region but also the work family of national employers like the DWP.  We hope we haven’t lost any of the personal touch or friendliness of those early days.

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 20^th anniversary.

Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages to stay up to date with our news, offers and events.

JOHN’S BLOG – SEPTEMBER 2018

A lot has been going on here at HEYCU over the summer, so let’s have a catch up with our news:

Lanarkshire Credit Union Visit

We were delighted when Myra and Carolann of Lanarkshire Credit Union paid us a visit, and showed us the wonderful Savvy Savers game that they have developed to get children of all ages interested in good habits with money.  Jo Evans, our Goole Development Officer, is very excited about testing out the game with our Pennies 2 Pounds schools this autumn and has promised to give feedback to our friends in Lanarkshire.  Who said money management has to be dull?

Goole & District Members’ Group

On 20 July the Group arranged a Cupcake Day in the local branch to raise funds for HEYCU’s Charity of the Year, Aim Higher.  It created a lot of interest in the local community and raised over £100 from the sale of cupcakes and draw tickets.  A special “thank you” to our amazing credit union members and their friends who kindly baked cakes and buns to support the venture!

 

The Group’s next meeting on Wednesday 26 September from 6 pm returns to the Lowther Hotel in Aire Street for a fun evening including a chance to play Savvy Savers, a prize draw and an update on the branch improvements project.  All HEYCU members in the Goole & Howdenshire area are most welcome to come along.

Northern Lincolnshire Members to benefit from data merger

On 27 July we closed all branches earlier than usual to complete a data upgrade, which merged the Northern Lincolnshire and Hull & East Yorkshire parts of the organisation on to a common platform. NLCU members now have 24,000 added to their Member Number (so for example, NL member 1,080 becomes 25,080 in the enlarged credit union).   This means they can register on the HEYCU website to view their overnight balance and recent transactions, and they can use any HEYCU branch to make deposits and withdrawals with ease.  

Ongo Carnival

Once again our Credit Union had a stand at the Ongo Carnival which took place in brilliant weather in August.  Tracey and Sarah from our High Street, Scunthorpe branch were there to meet the crowds and explain how our safe savings and affordable loans help everyone make the most of their money.  It was a day out to remember.

Credit Unions now serve nearly 2 million people

The latest data published by the Bank of England, for the financial year 2017, illustrates the rapid of growth of the British credit union movement in the last decade. Since 2008, membership has increased from just over 650,000 members to just under 2 million, and they now have assets worth over £3.1 billion.

Credit unions in England now serve over 800,000 members, with £730 million in savings and over £500 million out on loan. Scotland’s credit unions serve almost 400,000 members, or 7.4% of the population. Credit unions particularly thrive in Glasgow where 25% of residents are members of their local credit union. Scottish members now have £520 million in savings and total assets of over £600 million.   Welsh credit unions are serving almost 80,000 people, who have £40 million in savings and are currently borrowing £22 million.

Meanwhile, figures published by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) echo this growth on the global stage. In 2006 46,000 credit unions served 172 million people worldwide across 97 countries. However, the most recent WOCCU statistics show that by 2006 68,000 credit unions were serving over 235 million people in 109 countries. 

Clearly, credit unions are becoming more popular than ever. With nearly 2 million members in the UK it shows that more and more people from all walks of life trust credit unions as a place to save, as well as a great option for loans and other financial services.

“By the seaside, beside the sea…”

We have been working on exciting plans to expand HEYCU’s presence in Withernsea, with support from the Withernsea Big Local Steering Group.  Once approval is obtained from Big Local headquarters, they will be making a social investment in our credit union as part of their aim to improve the financial well-being of Withernsea residents over the next three years. 

I was pleased to be invited to speak at Withernsea Big Local’s annual public meeting in the Shores on 13 September when I outlined our vision for Withernsea to become a Credit Union Town, where local people can easily access responsible not-for-profit savings and loans, making it a “no go area” for “rip-off credit” such as doorstep lenders, payday lenders, weekly payment stores and loan sharks.  We’ll have a local development worker to build up business, support our volunteers and work with the community; wider opening hours and new school banks.  Those present were very supportive of the idea, and we can’t wait to get started!

Meanwhile, up the road at Hornsea, a group of residents and the Town Council asked us to consider opening there, after the town lost its last High Street bank.  We ran a consultation in Hornsea Community News over the summer to find out more about their needs, and it appears there would be some support for a weekly volunteer-run branch there.  Watch this space!

Goodbye Wonga

The end of the “payday lender” Wonga in August didn’t come as a total surprise, after it collapsed under the weight of complaints and compensation payouts relating to its activities before the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) clamped down in 2014 with an interest rate cap and other expectations about affordability assessments. 

Responding to the news, ABCUL Head of Policy & Communications, Matt Bland, said: “Few will shed a tear over the demise of Wonga, whose high-profile marketing and sports sponsorship at their peak made them by far the best-known payday lending brand.  But the closure of Wonga should not be confused with the end of high-cost lending.   While the FCA’s consumer credit regime produced some improvements in practices, lenders continue to grow and lend to people who find difficulty accessing mainstream credit.”

Personally, I have never warmed to the idea of so-called payday lending.  I believe it to be just a slick marketing term, invented by Wonga and others, to make a disreputable practice sound respectable.   What sounds like a great idea – just borrowing until next payday – was all too often a hook to lure people into a spiral of uncontrollable debt.  If you can’t manage until this pay day, what chance have you next time when, on top of all your usual bills, you’ve a high-cost payday loan to settle?  Hence the frequent need to roll-the debt over, and before you know it you’re saddled with a near permanent debt at 1000%+ APR.

Far better the credit union alternative, which has people’s financial well-being, not the lender’s profit at its heart.  We lend the smaller sums that banks won’t consider, but at reasonable rates of interest, and over sensible periods.  We also encourage people to save, which is the only long-term route out of a cycle of debt. 

Lord Mayor of Hull’s Centenary Plaque

We’re very honoured to have one of the Lord Mayor’s Centenary Plaques on our Hull Central branch building.  It commemorates Lord James Peddie, who was a leading figure in the co-operative movement from the 1930s to the 1960s.  As we are a co-operative, the Lord Mayor thought we would be a fitting location for his plaque.

The Lord Mayor’s Centenary Plaques were established to mark the 100 year anniversary of the creation of the role of Lord Mayor in Hull.  They recognise one hundred pioneers from our city that have achieved great distinction in their various fields, from scientists to explorers, ground breakers and campaigners who have made a difference on a local, national and international level but have their roots in Hull.    You can download an app, available FREE from Apple Store and Google Play and use it to find plaque locations and discover more about the Hull 100.

FitBit Prize Draw – hurry to get in the Prize Draw!

If you work for one of our payroll partners, there’s just a couple of weeks left to get yourself included in the Prize Draw to win a FitBit Alta Activity and Sleep Wristband (worth £99).  All you have to do is:

·        if you’re not a member already, join our Credit Union, and set up a payroll deduction for regular saving; or

·        if you are, refer a work colleague to do so.  We’ll pop you (and them) in the draw for each new member who joins on your referral.

But don’t delay, the offer closes at the end of September.

It’s that time again!

 

We are sorry to mention it but Christmas is on its way.  If you need some extra support to cope with the pressure on your purse or wallet that the festive season usually brings, look no further than your own Credit Union.  A Credit Union Christmas Loan 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 17.9.18

Remember, we have a 5-star Fairbanking Mark for our Credit Union Loans, and you can save with us alongside your loan repayment, helping you to build up a handy sum for the future.   We also have a Child Benefit Loan & Savings Plan option, which is an ideal way for families to stretch their money further.

To find out more, click here or call our friendly team on 01482 778753 (M-F).