The campaign to make Blaenau Gwent the first ‘credit union county’ in Wales has taken an important step forward, says the local authority.
A new credit union champion – Blaenau Gwent councillor Jules Gardner – has been appointed, with the aim of aligning the role with his council brief to combat low living standards. The goal is to boost credit union membership substantially, and in the longer term to enlist half the adult population of the county as members of Smart Money Cymru Community Bank (formerly credit union).
As traditional financial institutions continue to close branches, locally based community banks and credit unions are becoming more important, says the council – and their memberships are growing.
With this in mind, the local authority has partnered with Smart Money to spread the word that high quality banking is available to all and they are working together to increase membership.
Smart Money already has a strong presence in the county with 2,055 members – 14,000 in South and Mid Wales. Cllr Gardner is confident this can be greatly increased as people come to understand the benefits of joining. “People don’t always realise they can save their money safely with the Community Bank and take out loans at fair rates as well,” he said.
Several large businesses are moving into the county creating significant numbers of new jobs, he added. “This represents an opportunity for the Community Bank to engage with these new employers, providing banking for the workforce and other services such as payroll savings.”
Smart Money chair Alun Taylor added that considerable progress had already been made in expanding the role of the bank and making Blaenau Gwent the first ‘credit union county‘ in Wales. A banking hub have been set up at Ebbw Vale Institute and four more are planned at strategic locations, as well as a network of school savings clubs.
“Our long-term aim is to have half the adult population of Blaenau Gwent signed up as members of a credit union or community bank as is the case in other countries, and we believe this is possible. We and the Council are firmly behind this policy and will be working hard to spread the message,” he added.
Smart Money’s approach was to be flexible when making decisions on borrowing and other applications, he said. “We believe in offering a personal service and looking at a wider range of factors when we make a loan or other decisions. We aim to treat members in a fair and reasonable way and take a long-term view, which is very different to the clinical approach of the high street banks.
“An important difference between us and them is that we exist for the benefit of members and profits are recycled, whereas banks have to make a return for their shareholders.”
Photo: Smart Money CEO Mark White, Cllr Jules Gardner and Smart Money chair Alun Taylor (image: Nick Treharne)
