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ABCUL President and Enterprise Credit Union CEO, Karen Bennett awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours

Karen Bennett, CEO of Enterprise Credit Union and President of the Association has received a distinguished CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her services to the Credit Union Sector and Financial Inclusion.

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Monday 15 January 2024

Karen Bennett, CEO of Enterprise Credit Union and President of the Association has received a distinguished CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her services to the Credit Union Sector and Financial Inclusion.

Speaking earlier, Karen said: “I am honoured to receive this award and delighted it’s been announced this week which also includes International Credit Union Day – the global celebration of the impact of credit unions.”

Karen has played a significant role in the success of Enterprise Credit union and has been the CEO for the past 22 years, helping it grow from a small voluntary based credit union to one of the largest community credit unions in the Britain serving over 23,000 members and holding over £28 million in assets. Enterprise Credit Union provides savings and low-cost loans facilities to anyone who lives or works in, Liverpool, St Helens and Warrington Boroughs of Merseyside, encouraging savings and lending upwards of £20 million per year.

Karen added: “Our Credit Union like so many others across the world is doing amazing workday in and day out. We are all passionate about what we do, it is so rewarding to work in our sector, our co-operative values are so important to us, we are simply People Helping People.”

Karen is passionate about credit unions and financial inclusion and is an advocate for credit unions both locally and nationally.  Alongside her work at a community level, Karen was elected President of ABCUL in 2018 and has played a pivotal role in developing a new, ambitious vision and strategy for British credit unions – Vision 2025.

ABCUL CEO, Robert Kelly said: “Everyone at ABCUL and in the credit union sector is delighted with the announcement. Karen being recognised in the Honours list reflects her lifetime commitment and dedication to improving the lives of her community. She is an embodiment of the credit union message of ‘People Helping People’ and I’m exceptionally proud to call Karen a colleague and a friend.”

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