The Tribune

The prime minister has urged Bahamian credit unions to play "an essential role" in delivering financial services to unbanked communities in the Family Islands.

Addressing the World Council of Credit Unions and Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions Conference at Atlantis, Dr Hubert Minnis encouraged the industry to develop solutions for the challenges facing poor and underprivileged communities worldwide.

As at December 2018, the regional credit union sector comprised 289 organisations with around 2.6 million members. It is estimated to have $6.2bn in savings, $4.9bn in loans, $733m in reserves and $7.6bn in assets.

Given the industry's financial strength, the prime minister said credit unions can play a growing role in national development, especially in rural and less developed areas globally and throughout the Caribbean.

"This includes areas like some of our Family Island communities, which are less developed than urban centres such as New Providence and Freeport," Dr Minnis said. "Within this context, credit unions can play an essential role, especially in the many under banked communities we have in the Family Islands."

The prime minister applauded Bahamian credit unions for already offering services on several Family Islands.

"The local movement has impacted the lives of their members in many meaningful ways, including in home ownership, higher education, small business development and favourable investment opportunities," he said. "Indeed, credit unions offer some of the more competitive interest rates on savings in the country."

The prime minister added that the Teachers & Salaried Workers Co-operative Credit Union, the largest such entity in the country, started with less than $100. Today, this union has more than 17,000 members with over $214m in assets.

"We commend the credit union sector for collaborating with the Department of Co-operative Development by investing in our young people in the development of the School Co-operatives programme," Dr Minnis said.

Through this programme, high school students learn about co-operative principles, financial literacy and how to develop their own small business enterprises. The schools involved are CR Walker and the CC Sweeting High School Co-operatives Programme.