CELEBRATING its 60th anniversary this year, Clonard Credit Union (CCU) is very much looking to the future with confidence.

Along with other credit unions it has led a revolution in helping local people access affordable finance.

Terry McCrudden, CEO of Clonard Credit Union, reflects on the growth of CCU as we meet in their new state-of-the-art premises on the Crumlin Road. 

Terry said: “We started in 1964 with 83 members and £680 and now we have 33,000 members and total assets of £91million across nine branches in North and West Belfast and into North Down. As we stand at the moment, we’re a pretty big credit union.

“When we formed in the 1960s. It was a time of great political and social upheaval and many people in our communities were denied access to funds or loans or even basic forms of finance which we today take for granted.

“With no way for people in our communities to borrow money, our founders took it upon themselves to establish credit unions and the majority of other credit unions here started around the same time. In essence, they were about financial emancipation allowing people who had no access to borrow money a way to take out a loan.

“In essence, this is what we still do today and we provide a way for people without any access to finance to be able to borrow money, but we’re not just for people without any access to finance and we want people who are in our communities to borrow from us because we’re massively about our membership and our community.”

Terry explained that although credit unions are similar to banks, in that you can open accounts, deposit and withdraw money and apply for loans, a credit union is fundamentally different in that it is owned and driven by its members. Whereas a bank works to earn money and dividends for shareholders, credit unions put those profits back to their members.

Terry said: “As a credit union we’re not a bank because we’re member-owned and member-led and we’re not for profit. Any profits or surplus we make goes back to our members in terms of dividend or an interest free rebate and we also use that to invest and expand the credit union."

Continuing, he added: “We are always striving to improve our services which we give to our members so we also make significant investments into our IT and support systems to make sure we can offer our members the best services possible.

“We’re very different from banks because we’re all centred around our members. We have a staff of 33 and also ten volunteers and that spirit of volunteerism continues through our and all other credit unions."

With regards to supporting the local community, Terry said Clonard continues to be heavily involved in all aspects of community life and described a number of the many programmes CCU are currently involved in.

“We are currently running a number of community programmes including Aisling Bursaries, a cross-community group called Sport Changes Lives with two local schools as well as our own School Bursary Programme. We also run sponsorships which help out families who may have their first child going to university or if they need a new laptop or something similar.

“We recently began a Christmas sponsorship with the Children’s Hospice as well which has been great to work with.”

CCU have also been thoroughly modernising their operations and along with 24/7 online banking also have an easy to use app and loan calculator. Terry stressed that CCU continue to offer finance to people and their loans to members have an exceptionally high approval rate.

“Over the past year we’ve increased our borrowing limits for loans so our members can take out larger loans if they need them," he said. “With our loans we do a lot of smaller loans but we also do a lot of larger loans as well and our loans have a 96 per cent approval rate, which is incredible.

“When assessing our loans, we look at things differently from banks. Banks take a much more clinical view and if the ‘computer says no’ then you’re unlikely to get your loan approved whereas we like to take a more human and personal approach. We believe in a proper human touch because as I’ve mentioned, we’re here for our members.”

EXPANDING: At nine branches across the North, CCU recently had to move their main premises to their new branch on Crumlin Road
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EXPANDING: At nine branches across the North, CCU recently had to move their main premises to their new branch on Crumlin Road

Looking forward to the future, CCU hope to continue their work in the community but a big driver for them is getting more young people involved in becoming members and as a result hold frequent talks at schools and help younger people learn about personal finance.

Terry McGuinness, Business Development and Marketing Manager at CCU, said he wanted more young people to become members and share in the benefits of becoming members.

Terry said: “Over the years with us allowing people to take out loans who previously wouldn’t have been allowed to take out loans, we have helped the community because very often that money is then spent in the local area or on a local tradesman so it creates a healthy local economy.

“Looking forward, what we really want to see is the younger members of the community come to us and we are also working on programmes to provide financial education and awareness to younger people.

“We are doing a lot of work at events and schools to help younger people understand finance and to teach them about money and how finance can work.

“What we’re saying to young people is they don’t need to see the credit union as something outdated, we are a real choice, not just an option. We have fully established online banking, apps and easy and flexible ways for our members to access their finances.

“We want to show younger people that our app and online banking is useful, intuitive and can meet all their financial needs. We want people to be aware of our services and the help and opportunities we can offer to our members. Don’t see us as an alternative, see us as an option.”

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