About us Printer
friendly version East Sussex Credit Union (ESCU) is a not for profit
savings and loans co-operative, which has been trading since August
2001. Originally working in the East of Brighton, in August 2004
we were granted a ‘common bond' extension to enable our services
to be accessed by anyone living in the Brighton or Hove parliamentary
constituencies.
You can watch
an interview with credit union manager, Adrian Davies to find
out more. If you do not wish to 'stream' this video - you can
also download a copy (.wmv file (51.4mb
- 4 mins with broadband).
There are also videos taken during our Open
Day, including addresses by Claire Whyley from the National
Consumer Council and Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee.
And we are growing quickly! Between January 2004 and December
2007 our membership has increased from 600 to 2,000 and they have
increased their savings with us from £100,000 to £450,000.
As a Friendly
Society we take our social and charitable objectives very
seriously. We therefore aim to provide a high quality, sustainable
and easy to access savings and loans co-operative, which is responsive
to the needs of the people of Brighton & Hove and actively
combats the detrimental effects of poverty and financial exclusion.
To help us achieve these objectives we:
Work in partnership with local communities
and other statutory and non-statutory organisations to provide
joined up solutions which help to combat poverty and its detrimental
effects upon health, educational attainment, employment and homelessness. For example since 2005 we have been working closely with the
Government Office of the South East's financial inclusion strategy
groups to draw up a regional multi-agency strategy to deal with
financial exclusion across the South East.
Contribute to economic regeneration by
promoting savings and sensible borrowing amongst our membership,
providing paid and volunteer work opportunities and offering loans
facilities to entrepreneurs, and training and experience for members
to improve labour market accessibility. In a recent local study by the University of Brighton, 38%
of respondents stated that debt was a barrier preventing them
from entering employment. Not only do our affordable loans help
people escape a cycle of high cost credit related indebtedness;
we also recruit and train around 15 volunteers per year, building
essential skills to help people re-enter the labour market.
Offer cost effective and flexible loans that
meet the needs of our members and which offer a viable alternative
to predatory lending practices Each month we grant around 75 loans to people on very low
incomes who are often facing financially exclusion. A credit union
loan can save someone borrowing £500 over a year more than
£200 in interest payments.
Advance local wealth by redistributing our
profits to our members in accordance with co-operative principles
In 2005 we gave over £5,000 to our membership in the
form of a dividend payment. Our membership is disproportionately
drawn from people on low incomes so this money has gone where
it is needed the most.
News 4th August 2008 Positive changes to credit union
legislation
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Kitty Usher, has just
confirmed a range of changes to the rules governing credit unions
that will allow us to offer a much broader range of services to
our members. These include:
Making 'common bond' legislation more flexible - that means
that even if you don't live or work in East Sussex you could
still join our credit union in some circumstances
Enabling groups and not just individuals to become members
- if your community organisation is looking for somewhere to
bank that means you could choose the credit union
Allowing credit unions to pay interest on accounts as well
as a profit sharing dividend - so we can offer more certainty
about the return you could get on your investment with us
Removing the age limit, so that our junior members can also
become full members of the co-operative
"These changes will make a real difference to the credit
union", commented General Manager, Adrian Davies "We
will be able to offer accounts that pay interest to people living
outside of East Sussex, including many Housing Association tenants
who do not currently qualify for membership."
The legislative changes are expected to be in place by July 2009
