The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A well-known credit union yesterday said it had enjoyed a “pretty good year” in 2013, with “record breaking” 14 per cent growth in its membership coupled with a just under 8 per cent increase in total assets.

The National Workers Co-operative Credit Union’s (NWCCU) audited financial statements for 2013, which were presented at its annual general meeting (AGM) last week, showed growth of $7.4 million or 17.38 per cent in total assets.

Membership, meanwhile, grew by 1,124 or 13.89 per cent. “We have seen growth in our membership. We saw record-breaking growth in our membership in 2013, which exceeded 9,000 members. We had a pretty good year,” said chief executive Alfred Poitier.

The NWCCU, for the year-ended December 31, 2013, reported a net income of $1.2 million and purchased property on JFK Drive - at the roadway intersection to Baha Mar - to build its Nassau head office.

The credit union saw total loans increase by a net $6.247 million or 17.3 per cent. In 2013, 4,537 new loans totalling $18.272 million were granted.

The NWCCU increased its ‘$5,000 Civil Servants’ revolving promotional loan programme to ‘$10,000’, and the ‘$2,500 Sign and Go’ revolving promotion loan programme to ‘$5,000’.

Total deposits grew by $6.341 million or 17.52 per cent. During 2013, the NWCCU made four end-quarter payments of $165,235, principal plus interest, on a $5 million loan from the Bahamas Hotel and Allied Industries Pension Fund.

NWCCU chairman Sonia Hamilton said that while the credit union was not exempted from its share of challenges in 2013, it continued to grow from “strength to strength”.

She added that while the NWCCU had made a significant turnaround in profitability, it was working to address issues of delinquency and compliance.

“The performance turned around tremendously. We recorded a profit in excess of $1 million. We are looking at an even greater turnaround at the end of 2014,” Ms Hamilton told Tribune Business.