Imagine a bank that is there to serve its local community, to look after its savers and borrowers and pays out dividends not to faceless shareholders but to its members instead.
Such a caring and committed financial institution already exists at 250 Union Street in the friendly and welcoming shape of Grampian Credit Union.
We caught up with its Chief Executive Officer, Chinyere Adeniyi-Alade, to find out more about the Credit Union, its mission to help people across Grampian, its plans for the coming year – and the advantages of being an Aberdeen Inspired levy payer.
Tell us about Grampian Credit Union
Grampian Credit Union has been in existence since 1993. As the name says, we are a credit union – a mutual financial cooperative that helps people in the Grampian area.
Grampian Credit Union was started by the Grampian Regional Council - now Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils. Then it was just for council staff, but now it’s open to everybody living or working in the Grampian area.
We’re about to celebrate our 31st birthday and in that time, we have helped more than 10,000 people in the Grampian area to save and borrow. Today we have more than 4,500 members who benefit from our service.
Chinyere Adeniyi-Alade, Chief Executive Officer of Grampian Credit Union. Image - Aberdeen Inspired
As a credit union, we are community based, so we are embedded in the community, for the community, in the Grampian region.
Also, we don’t have shareholders who we have to pay dividends to. At the end of the financial year, after we have taken our expenses out, if we have income it goes back to the members, so they get the dividend of being members of the Credit Union and borrowing from the Credit Union.
We also have insurance for all our members in terms of their savings and loans, so if anything were to happen to a member, the insurance would clear the loan and pay out on the savings.
We are regulated by the same regulators as banks – the FCA and the PRA – in terms of our saving, members’ money is secured up to £85,000 and the interest we charge on loans are fixed.
What do you like about being based in the city centre?
We used to be on Holburn Street and we felt that even though we were close to the city centre we were not in the city centre. For the Credit Union, we need visibility, we need people to know about the Credit Union, to know what we do for the community and in the community.
So, we decided with the board, that we should move to 250 Union Street. A lot of people come to Union Street – a lot of people can see us from the bus when they go past - so being here gives us that visibility. It creates awareness the Credit Union is here and we are ready to help people in the community.
A warm, friendly and helpful welcome will always be found at Grampian Credit Union says its Chief Executive Officer, Chinyere Adeniyi-Alade. Image - Aberdeen Inspired
What are the benefits for Grampian Credit Union being an Aberdeen Inspired levy payer?
When we came on to Union Street, Aberdeen Inspired came to visit us and they were quite helpful and talked us through a few things. Being a levy payer with Aberdeen Inspired, keeps us updated on things that are happening on Union Street, so we know exactly how that affects us. We also have a voice, not just as a business but also as part of Aberdeen Inspired, so we can affect what happens on Union Street.
What are your plans for the next 12 months?
We have lots of plans for the next 12 months. We are speaking with other business and stakeholders about something we have called payroll deduction. It means employees with that business can have money deducted straight from their salary and saved directly with the Credit Union. Currently we have 20 companies that have this payroll deduction and we are hoping for more companies to join the scheme.
In terms of loans, we are also hoping we can get more people away from high interest lenders, or illegal lenders. As the cost of living goes higher and higher we are seeing a lot of people struggling to meet even basic needs and a lot of people are borrowing from where they shouldn’t borrow.
Our plan is to make sure we get people borrowing from a financial institution they can trust and that is not going to threaten them if anything happens. We are here to listen.
Grampian Credit Union is part of the community and is now visible in the heart of Aberdeen, says Chinyere Adeniyi-Alade, Chief Executive Officer. Image - Aberdeen Inspired
What advice would you give to new businesses looking to set up in the city centre?
The city centre needs to be more vibrant, we can’t hide away from that. So anybody wanting to set up business into the city centre is welcome, because we need to create that buoyancy and vibrancy in our city centre. When we do that, it brings more people into the city.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I guess it takes a village to build up our city centre.
What would be the biggest improvement to the city centre in your opinion?
As I said, we need more businesses, we need more people coming into the city centre and more people who are willing to spend money in the city centre.
I think the council needs to make things easier for people to come into the city centre in terms of the LEZ, in terms of the bus gates. They need to make it clear to people where they can come to and also make it easier for people to park. Then the businesses who own the car parks can make some money, and people can come into the city centre, spend money in the shops and just have a good time.
When you’re not working where is your favourite place or thing to do in Aberdeen?
When I’m not working, I mainly just want to relax at home with the family. But if I go out, I like to go to the movies with the family. I also like to go out to eat, especially in Union Square.
You can find out more about Grampian Credit Union at grampiancreditunion.co.uk
You can find Grampian Credit Union at 250 Union Street. Image - Aberdeen Inspired