Reporting Back on our 2022 Virtual AGM

It was great to have so many of our members join us online last week (26th January) for our Virtual Annual General Meeting.

It’s the second year now that it’s been held online-only, and although it was a shame to not be able to see everyone in person again, one benefit of the online format is that it certainly makes taking part in the meeting accessible to more of you than ever before – wherever in the country you are.

Another advantage is that we’re also able to share a digital recording of the meeting, so for everyone unable to make it, there’s the chance to catch up afterwards too – see below for the video, and downloadable meeting documents.

We were delighted to be able to report back on another successful year’s trading, despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and economic difficulties around the country:

* We granted over 3,200 loans to our members – a record – and 28% more than the previous year. The amount loaned was also a record – overall the active loan book grew by 28% and we ended the year with a surplus of £65,000.

* We welcomed over 1700 new members– 27% up last year and our overall membership grew by 8%

* The board approved an annual dividend of 0.25% – and dividend payments have now been credited to the accounts of all eligible members. This amount is the same as last year and is in line with the current Bank of England base rate. While in future years we do plan on offering a more generous rate, we believe that this fairly reflects the current balance of strategic priorities for the credit union.

* The Graham Southall Award was presented to Claire Dalton, who recently retired from our Board of Directors

* Rebecca Hamilton received a Lifetime President award

* We shared our new Purpose Project report setting out our commitments in five key areas: campaigning, our code of good practice, social goals, co-operative principles, and inclusion and diversity (see below for downloadable copy of report)

Watch the full AGM video recording

Download Copies of the Meeting Papers, Accounts,Voting Results and The Purpose Project