Record numbers for the Northumberland Community Bank

Monday 15 January 2024

Northumberland Community Bank is celebrating record numbers after a period of significant growth for the credit union . It has grown significantly since its launch and, through the merger with the Credit Union for South East Northumberland in 2017, it now covers the whole county of Northumberland and has more than 2,250 active members.

More new members than ever joined in the last 12 months and significant employers, such as Northumberland NHS Foundation Trust, entered into payroll partnerships to enable staff to benefit from the services the credit union offers through salary deduction, making 2019 a record year.

Alongside issuing over 800 loans in the past 12 months, the launch of a smartphone app and the implementation of a dividend to savers scheme saw staff numbers expand.

Members of the credit union were visited by Hexham’s MP Guy Opperman, himself a founding member, who was full of praise for the work it does across Northumberland.

He said: “It has been an amazing year for the Northumberland Community Bank and I wanted to offer my congratulations to Lauren, Mark and the team who do such a fantastic job.

“The community bank offers a vital service. It helps people build their financial resilience by both encouraging saving and also supplying them with access to responsible, affordable lending when they need it.”

Lauren Langton, Chief Executive of Northumberland Community Bank, said: “Our goal is to be self-sustaining, providing a service to our community into the future. Over the past three years, we have tripled our earned income and more than doubled our loan book.

“By employing industry leading technology, we plan to keep expanding and to continue to help local people across Northumberland”

Source – Hexham Courant