Leaflet campaign offers ‘an ethical alternative’ to customers fed up with bonus revelations

Published: 21 January, 2011
by PETER GRUNER

Credit union confronts rich banks on their own territory... your high street 

CREDIT union workers in Islington launched the Great Bank Robbery leafleting campaign this week in a battle to win customers from high street financial institutions.

A team of volunteers and employees from Archway-based Islington and City Credit Union (ICCU) gave out leaflets showing a comic villain holding a crowbar in one hand and a “bonus” bag in the other.

The campaign, launched on Monday outside the NatWest branch in Junction Road, Archway, is believed to be the first of its kind in the country. It will culminate tomorrow (Saturday) in Upper Street, Angel, where customers of Barclays and other banks will be leafleted.

Among those who took a leaflet on Monday was printer Hak Huseyin, chairman of Archway Town Centre Management group. Mr Huseyin said: “I read the leaflet with interest and even went onto their website. 

“But I’ll need to know a lot more about the organisation.”  

The campaign marks a turning point for ICCU, based in rundown Caxton House community centre. Whereas previously it has found its membership among unions, local government workers and people refused access to big banks, it is now aiming to lure customers from the high street.

Martin Groombridge, manager of the ICCU, said: “Despite the taxpayers paying billions of pounds to bail out the banks, the rich bankers continue to pay themselves many millions of pounds in bonuses.

“The big banks have never been so unpopular. This is an opportunity for us to show that credit unions can provide an ethical alternative. And your money is safe and under guarantee with us.”

The ICCU argues that when you invest with it, rather than your money going into bonuses and shareholder profits, it can work for the benefit of the community, providing small loans for the hard-up.

However, although good at encouraging people to save, the ICCU has yet to offer current accounts for its members, although other credit unions do. Credit unions cannot currently provide business loans although that is expected to change soon.

Those who belong to a credit union include MPs Harriet Harman and Simon Hughes and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone. The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is also a member.

Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn is a member of ICCU as are a third of Islington’s councillors from both parties and many Town Hall officials, including chief executive John Foster.

The organisation is a member-owned, not-for-profit, savings-and-loans cooperative. “You re­ceive no interest on savings but customers normally get a dividend based on an annual profit share,” Mr. Groombridge added.

Established in 1997, ICCU now has more than 2,000 members, who borrowed £400,000 last year, and numbers are said to be increasing.

Anyone living or working in Islington or the City of London can join, no matter how little money they have.

Mr Groombridge said:  “Up to 17 per cent of people in the UK are excluded from opening a bank or building society account or from accessing financial services, for various reasons like unemployment or having huge debt.

“They often have to rely on loan sharks or pawn shops. Our objectives are to promote saving, and if necessary educate people about debt and money management.”

Britain has 450 credit unions, with 26 having current accounts and the biggest in Glasgow offering mortgages. 

• For information about membership of the credit union, call 0207 561 1786 or email info@iccu.coop