During a year that presented mixed results for the Jamaican economy the Manchester Co-operative Credit Union continued its track record of good performance and steady growth in 2006. The following report on the Credit Unions performance was presented to the members at the 31st Annual General Meeting held on Thursday, June 14, 2007 at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville.

Among the highlights of the performance was the 9% growth in surplus which amounted to $72.1 million. There was a 24% growth in shares and deposits combined, with total savings closing the year 2006 at $1.24 billion. The growth in total assets continued in 2006 with an increase which amounted to $266 million or 21% for the year. This growth pushed total assets above the $1.5 billion mark.

Factors contributing to the growth in total assets included the 24.4% growth in Cash & Investments, and the 22% growth in Loans to members. These assets provided $646 million, and $751 million respectively, of the over $1.5 billion total assets. With these amounts, loans contributed 49% to the total asset portfolio.

Maintaining a strong capital base is important in ensuring the Credit Union remains a safe and sound financial institution. In this light, the organization continues to meet and exceed most of the key standards set by the Credit Union League.

One of the major standards achieved was the Credit Union’s ability to hold 10% of total assets or $152 million in a reserve fund called Institutional Capital. The amount held in this fund is on par with the standard of 10% of Total Assets.

The organization has always aimed to create wealth for its members. One way of doing this is to ensure that competitive rates are paid on members’ savings. The organization therefore ensured that its interest rates on deposit accounts consistently ranked in the top three when compared to the rates offered by the major competitors. In addition to the competitive interest rates, a dividend of 5.5% was paid on shares for the year 2006.