Welcome Sutha

Lending Services & Debt Control Supervisor

Part of the credit union’s growth strategy is to increase its loan ser-

vices and to provide support to members who may be experiencing

financial difficulties which may affect their loan repayments. We

have added to our staff a Lending Services & Debt Control Supervi-

sor responsible for all Lending & Debt control activities of the credit

union.

A part of the credit union’s objective is to ensure members savings

are secure and to mitigate risk exposure. We believe that having a

Debt Control officer will not only benefit the credit union but also its

members by offering debt management and advice on their credit

union debt.

We would like to give a big welcome to Mrs Sutha Harahn who has

taken on this role. Sutha joined us on January 03, 2017 and has set-

tled in very well with the team. She will be responsible for granting

loans to members and debt control. You may have also noticed our

loan processing time has reduced and reschedule payments made eas-

ier; this is within her remit.

We wish Sutha all the success in her new role. If you visit the office,

remember to say hello. 6 Brownhill Road Catford

London SE6 2EJ

Tel: 02086982996

Email: info@crownsavers.co.uk

Website: www.crownsavers.co.uk

Crownsavers Securing the Future

Easter 6% and 12% Loan

We would like to wish all our members a very

Happy

Spring is here and Easter is just around the corner. To celebrate

the season we will be promoting our Easter Spring Fest Loans.

These loans are open to all our members who have never taken

a loan or who has excess savings available for the loan calcula-

tions.

With the Easter Spring Fest loans you can either apply for the

Standard Loan where you a can borrow 3 times your savings or

you can apply for the Security Loan where you can borrow ex-

actly what you have saved. These loans can be used for any

purpose, purchasing appliances or even a holiday. If you would

like further information about these loans please contact us

02086982996 or visit our website www.crownsavers.co.uk.

On March 12, 2017 was the Annual General Meeting of Credit Unions and

the CU Futures graduation. This event was held in Manchester at the Mid-

land hotel. There were 20 Credit Union Futures graduates from 20 Credit

Unions from all over the UK who have undergone training for Credit Un-

ion Management.

The CU Futures programme is in partnership with The Credit Union Foun-

dation and Citi Foundation. It is a 12 month development programme

which includes an industry standard qualification awarded by the Institute

of Financial Services University College.

Crownsavers is committed to supporting the development of staff members

into future credit union managers, directors and leaders to serve our com-

munity better and was able to sponsor Mr Diego Quiroga to undertake the

training.

Diego was among the 20 graduates who graduated on Saturday and we

would like to say Congratulations and all the best in the future.

L-R: Eunice Fekarurhobo

(Credit Union Secretary),

Diego Quiroga

(Crownsavers CU Futures

Graduate), Dolores Beck-

ford (Credit Union Man-

ager)

To ensure that we are delivering quality ser-

vice to our members Crownsavers conducted a

Customer Satisfaction Survey at the end of last

year. We received an overwhelming response

and are pleased to know that we have met the

expectations of our members.

Crownsavers prides itself on serving each and

every member fairly and will continue to offer

quality products that will meet the needs of our

members. We would like to say thank you to

all our members for their continued support

and we will endeavour to continue to improve

the credit union.

Annual General Meeting - Wednesday 22 March 2017

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Fairbanking - Save

As You Borrow

2

2016 Annual Ac-

counts

Financial Compen-

sation Scheme

2

New Loan Process-

ing Procedures

3

Standard Loan

Policy

3

Celebrate 20 Years 3

Our Loans Can

Help

3

Securing The Future 4

Welcome Sutha

Easter Spring Fest

Loan

4

C R O W N S A V E R S

F A C T S A N D

F I G U R E S A S A T

M A R C H 2 0 1 7 M A R C H 2 0 1 7 E D I T I O N

Active Members

2011

Member Savings

£2,806,127

Loans to Members

£2,013,046

We Support Our

Members to

Achieve Their

Dreams.....

Survey Results - What Our Members Say

Welcome to our first Newsletter for the new year, we

hope you all had a fantastic Christmas break and are

looking forward to warmer weather in the spring. The

last 2 years Crownsavers has grown immensely and we

are looking forward to giving an update to our share-

holders at this years’ Annual General Meeting (AGM)

this year.

This year, the AGM will be held at the Council Cham-

bers in the Lewisham Council Civic Suite on March 22,

2017 between 2:00 and 3:30 pm.

We would like to encourage all the credit union members who are the shareholders and our partners to attend the

meeting. This will help you to better understand how your credit union works, gain an insight into the overall op-

erations and meet the staff, volunteers and management

team.

Please confirm your attendance by emailing the credit un-

ion info@crownsavers.co.uk.

Proposed Motions:

Registered name change from Lewisham Employ-

ees Credit Union to Crownsavers

Membership fee increase for new members from

£5.00 to £10.00

Minimum savings amount increase from £25.00 to

£27.00

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied

Very Dissatisfied

% o

f M

em

be

rs

Satisfaction Level

Extremely Well

Very Well

Somewhat Well

Not So Well

Not at all

Great Staff Excellent

Service

Good company

Helpful

Happy Thanks for being there for my

needs. Very good

service

Secure Savings and great loans. I know

my money is safe

Safe

Our Members Are Satisfied

P A G E 2

FSCS £85,000

2016 Annual Accounts

“Join Crownsavers

Credit Union and En-

joy Secure Savings and

gain access to afford-

able loans”

Members Services

Balance Sheet As At 30 September 2016

Financial Compensation

Scheme Limit Increase

Our Accounts have been prepared under the new FRS

102 Regulation. To read more about FRS visit

www.frc.org.uk or telephone

Crownsavers helped

me to purchase my

property. Great staff.

Credit Union Fair Banking Save As You Borrow - Creating Good Habits

Money plays a central role in every household and in

many uncertain and difficult times having money

worries can lead to anxiety, stress and fear. Support-

ing more people into good saving habits can have a

profound impact on mitigating these moments and

help people to gain financial independence.

The “Save As You Borrow” (SAYB) initiative has

been a practice of credit unions and encourages mem-

bers to put small amounts aside each month into a

savings account while they are repaying their loan.

A report issued by the Fairbanking Foundation found

that the SAYB scheme led to a 71% increase in mem-

bers savings regularly - 98% found the scheme help-

ful. For members who have never saved before or

who are unable to save, the wellbeing benefits are

tangible.

Participants of the scheme has identified four key as-

pects to the model: it is easy, savings offer security,

there is a lump sum at the end of the loan repayment

and there is a sense of achievement.

The SAYB approach is a credit to Credit Unions and

has been proven to be beneficial. Credit unions help to

create financial well-being.

Great news for savers from the Bank of England. As of

January 2017 the limit for depositors under the Finan-

cial Compensation Scheme has increased to £85,000

which offers savers even more protection for their de-

posits. This also means that joint account holder’s

limit has increased to £170,000.

Chief Executive, Mark Neale, says the increase

strengthens savings protection. “Increasing our limit

means we’ll protect more money and more people. Our

new limit will protect about 98% of the UK public. So

people can be sure their money in banks, building so-

cieties and credit unions is safe.”

For full details about the scheme please visit their web-

site www.fscs.org.uk or call 0800 678 1100.

Revenue Account for the Year Ended 30th September 2016

Income 2016 2015

Loan Interest receivable and similar income

225,333 185,309

Interest Payable - -

Net Interest Income

Fees and Commission Receivable 3502 725

Fees and Commission Payable - -

Net Fees and Commission Receiv-able

Other Income

228,835

858

186,034

729

Administrative Expenses (154,954) (159,387)

Depreciation and Amortisation (9,028) (9,404)

Other Operating Expenses (20,107) (18,441)

Impairment Losses on Loans to Members

(23,439) (11,707)

Surplus/Deficit before Taxation

Taxation

22,165

(254)

(12,176)

(470)

Surplus/Deficit for the Financial Year

Total Comprehensive Income

21,911

21,911

(12,646)

(12,646)

Assets 2016 2015 Cash and Cash Equivalents and Liquid Deposits

855,380 740,515

Loans and Advances to Members 1,901,518 1,749,879

Tangible Fixed Assets 10,984 20,012

Other Receivables 6,672 8,275

Prepayments and Accrued Income 3,679 7,002

Total assets 2,778,233 2,525,683

Liabilities

Share Capital - Repayable on De-

mand

2,648,133 2,426,149

Juvenile Deposits 14,956 20,587

Other Payables 51,066 36,780

2,714,155 2,483,516

Retained Earnings 64,078 42,167

Total Liabilities 2,778,233 2,525,683

Crownsavers will be celebrating its 2oth year of business in

July this year. We are happy to reach such a milestone and

could not have done it without the help of our members. In

1997 the credit union had over 100 members and today we

have grown to over 2,010 active members having a total

membership of 3089.

We are honoured to have the continued support of our part-

ners, Lewisham Council, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS

Trust, Lewisham Homes, Lewisham and Southwark College

and all our other payroll partners who has helped us deliver

our services to their employees. We would like to say a big

thank you and we will continue to provide support for the

working community of Lewisham.

Members Services P A G E 3

To increase efficiency in

the approval of loans and

to also assist the credit

union to be risk averse and

reduce credit risk expo-

sure we will be introduc-

ing Automated Loan Deci-

sion (ALD) system.

This software will enable us to make some on the spot decisions

and speed up the loan processing time. This new system will

come in effect from April 1, 2017. You will be required to con-

firm credit check authorisation on all loans. Do not worry, we will

not lose our personal approach to all loan applications received.

To help support the needs of our members, the credit union has

changed the loan policy for the Standard Loan. The Standard

Loan will be reduced to a calculation of three times savings and

members can borrow a maximum of £10,000.

Also, previously members with a Personal Loan could not apply

for the Standard Loan, with this new policy members with the Per-

sonal Loan can now apply.

Our Loans Can Help You…. New Loan Processing Procedures

Changes to the Standard Loan Policy

Need easier access to your

savings. Apply for the new

Engage debit Card and

earn rewards on pur-

chases. Contact us for

Let’s Celebrate - We are 20

Thinking of upgrading your home? Why not ask us about our Personal Loan. Bor-

row up to £5,000 repayable over 3 years.

15% interest (16.1% APR)

Borrow up to £5,000 over 3 years. Total interest repayable £808.07

Ask About Our Fantastic Car Loan. 10% Interest (10.5% APR)

Looking at a bigger Project... Come and speak with us...