Wave Community Bank Merges with Kent Savers Credit Union

Friday 23 February 2024

Wave Community Bank (WCB) and Kent Savers Credit Union successfully completed a merger on Tuesday 20 February which has created a credit union with over 13,000 members and £7 million in assets serving people across Kent and East Sussex.

By being part of a larger, combined, sustainable and growing credit union, members will be able to access a broader range of products and services, and the merged credit union will be able to extend its reach to new members across the Southeast, expanding the credit union and helping more people to access ethical and fair financial services.

“We’re delighted to be merging with Kent Savers and welcoming their members to Wave Community Bank” said Richard Priestman, President of Wave Community Bank.

Richard Continued: “We believe this is a great opportunity to build a stronger credit union that can help more local people to access affordable credit and great savings accounts. We’re looking forward to a bright future for our members and our credit union”.

Kathy Cox, Deputy Chair of Kent Savers Credit Union said:“In seeking a merger, the most compelling outcome for Kent Savers is for our current members as well as people in Kent, Medway and Bexley to continue to be well served by a thriving, sustainable and progressive credit union – we believe that merging with Wave Community Bank is the best way we could have imagined to deliver on that. We are looking forward to working together as Wave Community Bank.”

ABCUL CEO, Robert Kelly, said: “On behalf of us all at the ABCUL, we send our congratulations to Wave Community Bank for the successful merger with Kent Savers Credit Union. The transfer of operations is another pivotal move in a positive direction for two organisations collaborating to achieve greater sustainability and service provision for its combined member base.”

Kent Savers Credit Union members were fully integrated into the WCB system on Wednesday 21 February and Wave Community Bank is keeping the office in Maidstone to continue to have a base in Kent to reach local residents.

Both WCB and Kent Savers have long histories of working collaboratively with local councils on projects to help residents access housing and financial services. WCB plans to continue working on innovative new projects into the future with local councils and NHS Trusts as well as offering credit union services to workers through their salaries with Employer Partners across Kent and East Sussex.