WESTMORELAND:
EARL BROOKS, president of the Westmoreland Co-operative Credit Union, said the institution has remained safe and viable, having recorded growth in membership, total assets, savings and loans.
Speaking at the 26th annual general meeting of the credit union recently, Mr. Brooks said that based on a five-year strategic plan, the institution has even exceeded some of its targets.
However, he said the economic climate was changing rapidly and therefore if the credit union was to remain relevant to its members it would have to be prepared to adjust to the dyna-mics, which were part of modern day living.
He, therefore, called upon the leadership of the credit union to consolidate on the gains made in the recent past.
Mr. Brooks said the credit union recorded its highest growth in membership during the past year, a 42 per cent increase compared with the previous year.
Total assets increased by 34 per cent, six per cent more than their target.
He said there was a 30 per cent increase in savings, while loans went up by 25 per cent.
Savings type accounts continued to do well, said the president, especially the Golden Anchor, which recorded a 62 per cent increase over the previous year.
However, Mr. Brooks ex-pressed concern that the credit union members in the parish were saving less than elsewhere on average.
Secretary of the credit union, Charles Taylor, in his report, said the Credit Union Movement has remained buoyant although the financial sector faced a number of economic challenges.
He mentioned the events of September 11, 2001 in the United States as one which impacted on the Jamaican economy.
At the same time, he said there were positives in the economy which contributed to the buoyancy of the Movement, among them, the inflation rate which has remained in single digits, improvement in the Net International Reserves (NIR), and increased liquidity in the banking system.
Among the achievements outlined by the treasurer in his report include share capital, which, he said, increased by 18 per cent to $147.8 million, deposits increased by 43 per cent to $186.6 million and net income increased by 17 per cent to $11.9 million.
Mr. Taylor noted that "we at the credit union still need to continue to work hard in order to meet the existing and new challenges ahead." He said the focus would therefore be on the following areas of the Credit Union's operation: further reduction of the delinquent loan portfolio; recovery of bad loans previously written off; an increase in the loan portfolio; further increase in members' savings deposits; an increase in institutional capital to the required standard of 10 per cent of total assets.
Despite the successes of the credit union some members were disgruntled about the high interest rates. They also complained about the length of time taken for loans to be processed.
Mr. Brooks said the Credit Union could not arbitrarily reduce interest rates. "Our rates are still the lowest within the Movement," he said. "Remember, we have our earning potentials."
However, in an attempt to appease shareholders, Mr. Brooks told them the management would examine the matters. Interest rates at present range between 21.1 per cent and 26 per cent for loans which exceeds shares held in the Credit Union, and between 18.8 per cent and 19.72 per cent for loans within shares.
Mr. Brooks also said the management was examining plans to put in place a 24-hour system to have loans processed. Members said it now takes several days or weeks for loans to be processed.
