Credit Union News

Camden Plus is currently recruiting volunteers to join our team of tellers working in the Royal College Street branch.

If you are interested in supporting the Credit Union, and developing your skills further, we would love to hear from you.

Visit the Volunteers page of this site for more information and to download a task description.

Camden Plus is pleased to announce that a dividend of 0.2% was agreed at its recent Annual General Meeting. This amount has now been credited to members accounts.

Dividends are payable on the average share balance held by members during the preceding financial year, (in this case October 1st 2008 to September 30th 2009).

Download Annual Report 2009 (1381.1kb)

A milestone was reached on Friday 24th April when Keith Moffitt, Leader of Camden Council and Andrew Marshall, Deputy Leader of Camden Council, officially opened the new Camden Plus Credit Union branch.

Friday’s events included a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Cllrs Moffitt and Marshall. Also in attendance were Directors, staff and volunteers of Camden Plus.

Cllr Moffitt said Credit Unions provide a valuable service for local people. While we all need to make our own decisions as to where to put our money I have taken a personal decision to open up an account today.

Cllr Marshall commented During a recession many people find it harder to pay for the things they need. Credit Unions can help people who might need a small loan to cover the cost of something going wrong, like a washing machine breaking, and who might otherwise be forced to use a loan shark.

Saturday 25th is Member Appreciation Day, when new and existing members of the Credit Union will have the opportunity to meet Credit Union staff and directors and discuss how the Credit Union can assist the local community. There will also be the opportunity to offer suggestions for new products and services. On the 25th, the branch will be open between 10.00am and 4pm.

The Association of British Credit Unions Ltd (ABCUL) has moved to reassure credit union members who may be concerned about the safety of their savings in credit unions as financial turmoil amongst mainstream institutions continues. 

ABCUL Chief Executive Mark Lyonette said “As credit unions do not rely on borrowing from other banks or the international money markets and are not in the business of buying up the debts of other financial institutions they are well sheltered from the economic turmoil which is causing worry for so many people at the moment.  Credit unions use the savings of their members to make loans to other members and are very self contained institutions. 

“Directors are volunteers who are elected from the membership of the credit union, by the membership of the credit union so only have the well being of the credit union and its members to consider – their decisions are not influenced by the demands of external shareholders or short term fluctuations in share prices.

“The events of the last few weeks have given enormous weight to our belief that mutual and local financial services such as credit unions are the way forward in making sure that individuals and families have safe and secure financial services. 

“Savings in credit unions are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the same way as deposits held in banks and building societies are.  The extra compensation limits which have recently been announced are to be welcomed in helping people have peace of mind that their hard earned savings are protected. “

The Government has again extended the protection offered to savers under the terms of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, (FSCS). The scheme now protects the first £50,000 that an individual has saved with any financial institution.

Remember that the most you can save with Camden Plus is currently £10,000. This means that all Camden Plus members can have the peace of mind of knowing that their savings are 100% guaranteed.

For more information on the FSCS, visit www.fscs.org.uk

Local journalist and community activist John Paul Flintoff has put together a short video on how Camden Plus Credit Union and the local LETS, (Local Exchange Trading System), work for the benefit of the local economy in Camden.

Click the following link to watch the video.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5vLVXXQK1Ig

You may also be interested to visit the websites of the other organisations mentioned in the video.

http://www.pluggingtheleaks.org/ - New Economics Foundation

http://www.camdenlets.org/ - Camden LETS

Camden Plus Credit Union has welcomed the recent remarks from the Archbishop of Canterbury about the value of credit unions.

Dr Rowan Williams referred to credit unions as one of the most effective agencies we have in reducing unmanageable debt and developing the skills that help people avoid the worst traps of the credit business, and called on the Government to continue to support the growth of credit unions in the UK.

Camden Plus is delighted that the Archbishop has drawn attention to the valuable role that credit unions play in combating unaffordable borrowing and helping families to manage their finances effectively.

The first Annual General Meeting of Camden Plus Credit Union was held successfully on Tuesday 6th March 2008, with a total of 17 members of the credit union in attendance.

At the meeting, the members elected the Board of Directors, Credit Committee and Supervisory Committee for the forthcoming year. You can find out more about the roles of each of these committees in the Member Handbook you receive as part of your Welcome Pack on joining the credit union.

We will shortly be uploading details of our various office holders and staff on to the website to help you get to know us better!

The credit union’s Annual Report was also distributed at the AGM. The report can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.

Annual Report (398.6kb)

Want to read more about Camden Plus Credit Union? Download the latest edition of our newsletter, by clicking the link below:

Download Winter 2007 Newsletter (488.8kb)

From October 1st, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which guarantees depositor’s savings, has increased the level of protection to 100% of the first £35,000 saved. Further details are available at www.fscs.org.uk.