Celebrate owning ‘your bank'

The talk this week might have been about taxpayers becoming owners of banks but according to Mark Lyonette, Chief Executive of ABCUL - the Association of British Credit Unions, this week's International Credit Union Day (16 October) is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the success of the credit union sector.

"Credit unions are financial co-operatives owned by their members, so their customers have in effect ‘owned their own bank' for years," says Mark. "The recent crisis has highlighted the benefits of mutual ownership and credit unions have been successful in this country and all over the world because of the way they look after their owners - the members."

There are more than 177 million members of 49,000 credit unions in 96 countries worldwide who collectively own assets of over US$1.2 trillion. Many credit unions in Britain have seen a surge in interest in recent months as people look for a safe haven for their savings and access to affordable loans.

"With everything that's happened these past few weeks, it's the perfect time for us to celebrate International Credit Union Day and the idea of mutual ownership. The members of credit unions have been sheltered from financial turbulence because credit unions don't speculate with their members' money on global markets. The money they raise locally through savings is ploughed back into the community in the form of affordable loans to those who need them."

Mark continues: "If people really want to enjoy the benefits of owning their own finance provider they should join their local credit union - not only will they be able to benefit from a range of affordable products and services, but they will also know their money is in safe hands - their own."

To find out more about credit unions in the UK visit abcul.coop