ABCUL Board Profile - Matt Bland

I got involved in credit unions back in 2009 as a recent university graduate when I saw a job advertised for a junior role in ABCUL’s policy team.  Credit unions brought together two interests of mine – the banking crisis of 2008 and the injustice of the bank bailouts that followed it and the co-operative movement which I’d learnt about the beginnings of during my history degree.   Having worked for ABCUL for 11 years, I left to join The Co-op Credit Union as its Chief Executive in January 2020, but when a position opened up for ABCUL director for the North West I thought my experience working both within ABCUL and one of its members meant I felt I was well-positioned to take part in setting ABCUL strategy.

I’ve only been a director since May 2022 but it’s been enjoyable and rewarding to get back involved with the Association after a hiatus of 2 ½ years.  I think a strong ABCUL is crucial to a strong credit union movement and I hope that I’ve been able to use my experience to support efforts to contribute to that goal. 

I’m particularly interested in issues of diversity and inclusion, which I think credit unions need to do more to respond to and so it has been particularly positive to have joined the ABCUL Inclusivity Group as the board representative.

For anyone considering standing for the ABCUL board, I would encourage you to reach out to current directors to get a sense of what the role involves.  We are a friendly bunch with a broad range of backgrounds and experience and we’re keen to see more people standing to join our ranks.  To that end, any of us would be glad to talk to candidates to give you a direct sense of what it’s like and to answer any questions you may have.