Cavan Credit Unon CEO, Therese Conway.

Cavan Credit Union to hold AGM next week

Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, January 24 at 7pm.

Cavan Credit Union invites all members to attend its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, January 24 at 7pm.

Following on from its success in previous years and its popularity with members the AGM will again be held virtually. The details on how to register to enable members to log on to the AGM on the evening are in the AGM Booklet sent out to members and on the credit union’s website.

Cavan Credit Union, also in response to members’ preferences, will be reopening on Saturdays from 10am-2pm, commencing on Saturday, February 4. The Credit Union will be closed on Mondays from February 6 onwards, so the five days the Credit Union is open will be Tuesday to Saturday, full opening hours are on www.cavancu.ie.

Financial performance

Cavan Credit Union had another strong performance in 2022, despite the uncertainty of the year with the war in Ukraine and the spiralling cost of living. Demand for loans at the Credit Union remained strong with an overall loan book growth of 14.7% bringing the total loan book to €32.3m, marking eight successive years of loan book growth. Overall surplus was €832,000. Assets continued to grow to €65.2m, up seven per cent on the previous year. For many years now the board and management have focused on actively managing the assets of the Credit Union in a prudent manner and building up its capital strength. Total reserves now stand at €9.5m, 14.3% of total assets.

Dividends and interest rebate

Cavan Credit Union, was impacted, like many others, by the negative interest rate environment during 2022, and was charged by banks for holding its funds. However with the change to the interest rate environment in the latter part of the year and the successive interest rate increases announced by the European Central Bank (ECB), it is against this backdrop that the Board of Directors is proposing to pay a modest dividend on shares of 0.01%. The Board are also recommending an interest rebate of 2% on all loans.

Membership and services

The membership of Cavan Credit Union continues to grow and stood at 20,359 at the end of 2022. During the year the credit union’s services were further improved with the most significant addition being the launch of its current accounts and debit cards. The MYCU Current Account offers members full banking facilities. The website and App were also both further updated and improved during the year, with an emphasis on ease of use. Members can now go online and with the click of a button book an appointment with a dedicated Credit Union Officer for a loan or current account application. Alternatively you can open a current account or apply for a loan entirely online, both applications now take less than five minutes to complete.

The Credit Union also continues to offer a wide range of services in-branch, including foreign exchange, Bill-pay, electronic funds transfer (EFT) and cash facilities.

Community involvement

During the course of 2022, Cavan Credit Union donated over €10,000 to 40 charities. At the forthcoming AGM the credit union is proposing to create a dedicated Social and Cultural Fund Reserve to continue and increase the funding it provides to worthwhile local causes.

Wide range of loans

The Credit Union during 2022 again added to the wide range of loans it offers and its lending rates remain very competitive. Loan products are available for general and specific purposes such as education, wedding, car, home improvement, Cultivate farm loans and Greenify home energy upgrade loans. Pledged savings of 5% of the loan amount is required. The maximum loan amount is €50,000 and loan terms are up to 10 years.

The board and staff of the Credit Union continue to work hard to ensure that Cavan Credit Union maintains its special place at the heart of the local community and is very grateful to its members for their continued loyalty and support.