Lord Mayor Commends HEY Credit Union

Tuesday 23 January 2024

The Lord Mayor of Kingston upon Hull, Councillor Lynn Petrini, accompanied by Councillor Gwen Lunn, visited HEY Credit Union’s Central Office last week, to thank its staff and volunteer team for all the hard work they’ve done to support the people of the city, especially through the pandemic period. Steve Verity, Acting Branch Co-ordinator, received a certificate from the Lord Mayor, on behalf of the team.

The Lord Mayor also presented a certificate and engraved tankard to HEY Credit Union’s CEO,  John Smith, to commemorate the work he has done over the years for the local community, including his time with Hull City Council as a local government officer, over 30 years involvement locally and nationally in the Co-operative Movement, and as a founder and the first ever CEO of HEY Credit Union since 1999.

Since its formation on 10 June 1999, HEY Credit Union has grown to 15,000 adult members and junior savers with a total of over £13 million in savings, making it one of the UK’s largest and most progressive credit unions.  It has granted over 62,000 loans valuing £46 million.

John Smith said, “We were thrilled to have the Lord Mayor and Councillor Lunn to visit us; they spent time with every member of our team, and the certificate they presented will have pride of place in our banking hall where members can see it. As a not-for-profit organisation owned co-operatively by the members who use our services, we are here to make a difference for the community, and for our work to be recognised by our civic leader in this way makes us all feel very proud.”