With the merger of North
Lincolnshire Credit Union now a legal fact, we moved quickly to rebrand our
latest branch in Scunthorpe High Street with a fresh new look. We are trading there as Northern* Lincolnshire Credit Union (part of HEYCU), but using our popular
well-established colour scheme and logo, as illustrated by the cheerful new
fascia sign and window posters that you can view on our website and Facebook
page. Within the branch our product
literature and signage has all been changed over to the new brand too.
Many thanks to David and Richard
for their expert handywork fixing up the new poster frames etc and to Melisa
for her design skills and keeping everyone on track! On the day several members commented on how
smart it all looked.
* a
subtle name change, but intended to show that we can serve people who live or
work across the region not just in one Council area.
Driffield Members make two presentations
Congratulations to the
members of our Driffield Branch Committee who organised their annual quiz
evening to raise funds for two good causes.
Representatives of the two organisations - Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the MacMillan Nurses - attended the branch
meeting to receive cheques for £200 each.
A great effort and positive proof that the Credit Union is a valued
member of the community it serves.
Matched Loans prove popular
We’re delighted with the
response to our newest loan product, the Matched Loan.
Take up has been good in the short time it’s been available. Matched Loans are for members who have at
least £1,000 in their savings that they are prepared to secure (ie not
withdraw) to take out an equivalent loan for up to five years. As these loans are secured, they can be arranged
instantly just by visiting a branch and completing a very simple form. No credit checks are needed and the interest
rate is a very appealing 4% APR.
If you’ saved up more
than £1,000 with us and need quick access to finance but don't want to dip into
your savings, this is the loan for you.
It can also help members to build their credit rating.
Promoting saving by payroll at the HICA Group
Last time I mentioned
Hull College joining the growing ranks of employers willing to let their staff
save with us by direct payroll deduction.
This week I met with our
friends at the HICA Group, one of the region's leading care home
and domiciliary care organisations, to plan a new campaign to encourage more of
their employees to save and borrow with us in the same way. We look forward to rolling this out soon and
welcoming them into membership.
Save money on your energy bill
Hull
City Council is currently operating a new round of the collective energy
switching scheme ‘Energy
Switch’. Since piloting the scheme in 2013 thousands
of people have reduced their energy bills by registering their interest via the
City Council website, calling 01482 300300 or visiting a Customer Service
Centre.
Energy
Switch works by aggregating groups of people and presenting them to the energy
market on one day; energy companies then bid against each other based upon the
volume of customers they stand to gain. The scheme is now performing better
than ever, with 99% of people who register receiving a cheaper quote, and the average
yearly saving per household in Hull now averaging a very worthwhile £270.
Changes within the energy market in 2014 have resulted in market leading offers
on the last three auctions that have been held across the country.
We are working with Hull
City Council to make our members aware of this opportunity. Residents and small businesses can register their
details (with no obligation to switch) by 18 May. Please note it is
open to prepayment meter users as well as other consumers.
Find out more here: www.hullcc.gov.uk/energyswitch
It's a great chance to
save some of your hard earned cash - so what have you got to lose?
The General Election is fast approaching
Bearing in mind that in
less than a week we'll be heading to the polling stations to choose our MPs and
the next Government, I've been taking a peek at some of the party manifestos to see what, if anything, they have to
say about Credit Unions.
Our trade association, ABCUL, has been working hard over the years
to ensure that all the main political parties support the development of the
credit union movement and has been very successful. This work has borne fruit as the policy
statements and commitments were unveiled recently.
Labour was first off the blocks with their
manifesto, which reaffirmed their support in its section on small business: "We will increase competition
(between banks) on the high street.... we want a market share test and at least
two new challenger banks. And we will
deal with the scourge of household debt by introducing a new levy on payday
lenders, using the funds raised to boost low-cost alternatives like credit
unions".
The Conservatives made the following commitment to our
sector within their section on banking entitled "We will make the banks
work for you": "We capped
payday lenders, made it easier for you to switch your bank account and will
continue to support the credit union movement in making financial services more
accessible."
We also featured in the Greens manifesto under their Finance section
which boldly begins with "The UK finance industry is a disaster
area. Far from
generating genuine wealth, its recklessness and greed created the greatest
recession since the 1930s, which in turn contributed to the present regime of
austerity and cuts to public services. We would . . . invest £2 billion in a network
of community banks, mutually owned and serving local areas or particular
groups. "
The
manifesto quotes an example of how the Green-led administration in Brighton
invested £100,000 in a local credit union, partly to help it set up an online
systems for residents to access loans, making the credit union as accessible as
high-interest payday lenders. It also banned such lenders from advertising on
Council billboards.
Blantyre Savvy Savers project
It was good to read about
another credit union that believes, like we do, that children are the future
and should be encouraged to catch the savings habit early. The Blantyre
and South Lanarkshire Credit Union, to the south-east of Glasgow, has a
long history of running school collection points. In 2011 it got on board with the Scottish
Government's initiative to bring credit unions into schools with its Savvy
Savers scheme, and now has over 5,000 active junior accounts holding £550,000
in savings, ranged over 70 schools. They
are currently promoting adult membership through schools with a Recommend a
Friend scheme, which gives them free credit union membership.
We are doing similar work
with our schools in Driffield, Goole, Holderness and Haltemprice, with the
support of East Riding of Yorkshire Council which is helping more families to
discover our "fairer alternative".
Wouldn't it be great if our Government funded the development of a
school bank in every English primary school?
Now, there's an idea for those party manifestos . . .
First Saver Accounts
To give your children or
grandchildren the best possible start in life - why not open them one of our First Saver accounts?
Tour de Yorkshire
As I write these notes, Hull City have just scored a magnificent win over Liverpool to take
them one step futher on their journey to Premier League survival, after a topsy
turvy season, so well done to them!
There’ll be more top sporting activity this Friday when the first ever Tour de Yorkshire cycle race makes its “grand depart” from beautiful
Bridlington. If you are going along to
watch the action, do pop into our branch in Prospect Street and say hello to “our
local team”.
Whatever you’re doing,
have a great Bank Holiday weekend!
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