A successful year of growth and rewarding savers says First Rate Credit Union

Friday 12 January 2024

First Rate Credit Union members gathered last week, for its 2020 Annual General Meeting. The meeting heard reports from Chairman Martin Newton, Treasurer Steve Cameron approve a recommended return to savers of a 2% dividend, a market-leading return on comparable easy access savings accounts.

The meeting heard of a successful year of consolidation for the credit union, increasing its lending and income, strengthening its regulatory reserves whilst at the same time reducing loan arrears and offering a high rate of return to savers.

Over the course of the year, the Credit Union received a £100,000 grant from the Lloyds Foundation and our loan product was awarded a 5-star Fair Banking Award from the Fairbanking Foundation. Operations Manager of First Rate Credit Union, Mike Barry said: “This is a real testament to the fact that we are not just another lender, we are a cooperative dedicated to the financial wellbeing of our members and BAE Systems people nationwide. This is a great addition to this credit union’s 38-year history of member services.”

A bolstering of the staff team and the ongoing drive to digital is putting First Rate in a position to look fondly at its 38-year history and look ahead with huge optimism for the years to come.

Mike added: “This has been a successful year of consolidation and managed growth, increasing our income, strengthening our capital position, reducing bad debt and rewarding savers with a 2% return, a market-leading rate for easy access savings. We are ready to head into the future with great optimism.”