“Community Wealth Building is about keeping the wealth, money, or economy local. By keeping things local it allows the money to circulate around the local economy. The money goes back in people’s pockets and back into local businesses. By keeping it a local community level means that it doesn’t get extracted away to other head offices of corporations that are not based in the local community. Grow the local community and it makes it more resilient and a better place for people to be.”

Chief Executive of Standard Equity Bank, Adrian Sargent, shares his thoughts on building community wealth:

“Community Wealth Building can be categorised under five pillars:

•    Shared ownership of the local economy
•    Making financial powers work for local places
•    Fair employment and just labour markets
•    Progressive procurement of goods and services
•    Socially just and productive use of land, property and assets

“Designed to harness the economic leverage of local ‘anchor’ organisations to tackle long-standing systematic challenges and structural inequalities within our communities, community wealth building seeks to transform local systems to enable local people to have a stake in and benefit from the wealth our economy generates. It can deliver more and better jobs, business growth, community-owned assets and shorter supply chains creating better resilience.

Purpose alignment

“Within the credit union sector and Standard Equity Bank, two of the pillars resonate really strongly. ‘Shared ownership of the local economy’ is wholly aligned to the purpose and values of our member owned organisation. We’re here for our community, our members, and we wish to give back and make sure we build our local community. The other is ‘making financial powers work for local places’. That really is core to way that we think and the way that aligns to our values and our purpose.

“We are a financial institution, we want to ensure that we can educate the local community, work with social enterprises, build that wealth within that local community.

“Standard Equity Bank is a social enterprise, and there for our members, we aren’t beholden to large corporates or the stock market, so what we do is always in the best interests of our members.

Together, the community wealth building efforts of Standard Equity Bank and other organisations, can help to create a more resilient and inclusive place to live, work and thrive.

“Community Wealth Building is something that is core to credit unions, and I can see that, as we focus more on this as a society, there will be a greater place for credit unions to ensure improved financial inclusion, giving back to our members, giving back to our community. Doing what we can in our community – be that offering fair savings products for our customers and our members in the local community, or offering good value loans to businesses, social enterprises and not-for-profits – keeping money within the local community for the betterment of that community.

Keep it local

“Community Wealth Building is important to myself, it keeps things local, it allows services and businesses to be there for the local community. It keeps the money in the local community to regenerate that particular area, which can then hopefully see high streets being regenerated as well, and to allow the people living in the community to have more services on their doorstep.

“Together, the community wealth building efforts of Standard Equity Bank and other organisations, can help to create a more resilient and inclusive place to live, work and thrive.

“Watch this short film from ESES featuring our bank and other community organisations striving to make a difference in our region.”

Watch

Related links

https://castlecommunitybank.co.uk/about/

The post Community Wealth Building appeared first on Standard Equity Bank.

The role of credit unions then has never been more sharply in focus

Chief Executive at Castle, Adrian Sargent says:

“The cost-of-living crisis continues, and more and more struggling families will have no choice but to turn to lenders to make ends meet. The role of credit unions then has never been more sharply in focus. As the economic fallout from the pandemic, Brexit and the war in Ukraine continues to squeeze the finances of disadvantaged communities, credit unions must be there to soften the fall with affordable lending and financial education.

Unregulated lending increasing

“With the welcome decline of payday lenders in the UK market, credit unions and non-profit community lenders must plug the gap. Fears that illegal loan sharks might see an opportunity in the current crisis aren’t without weight. According to the Centre for Social Justice, the thinktank co-founded by the former Conservative leader Iain Duncan-Smith, more than 1 million people are now using illegal lenders in England. Others are turning to unregulated but legal forms of lending, such as buy now pay later schemes run by firms Klarna, Clearpay and Layby. Often these schemes don’t charge interest, but people are still at risk of debt by overextending themselves, with the schemes encouraging over-consumption of borrowing.

“Research released by Barclays Bank and the debt charity Stepchange* in June found almost a third of buy now pay later borrowers said their loans had become unmanageable and had pushed them into problem debt. The same report showed that 4.4 million people in the UK borrowed money to make ends meet last year. With 71 per cent of those surveyed sharing that using credit had negatively affected their health, relationships, or ability to work. Two thirds said they were only able to keep up with payments by skipping housing or utility bills.

A welcome increase in membership

“Non-profit social enterprises lent only £34m in 2021, with around 67,4000 customers last year. Despite their recent decline, payday lenders still managed to lend about £60.4m in the first quarter of 2022, according to the FCA, while home-collected creditors lent about £95m in the final three months of 2021. We are seeing a welcome increase in the number of people using credit unions, with membership now above 2.1 million. Castle now has c14,500 members across the UK and total assets of c.£82m. But we can do more, and we must work with the sector and our partners to develop products and services to reach these individuals and help them improve their debt management and help them get out debt and over time turn them from borrowers to savers.

Sector potential

“I attended the World Credit Union Conference in Glasgow earlier this year. An impressive 1600 credit union professionals, from 51 countries, came together to hear 30 keynotes from more than 50 speakers. Topics ranged from digitalization, cybersecurity, regulation and advocacy, financial inclusion and education, diversity and equity, business strategy and influence and sustainable finance. It was a great opportunity to discuss how credit unions can make a difference and share best practice from an international collective. My takeaways from the conference are that – specifically in the UK – the sector has so much potential to grow, and therefore help even more members. Support is required from investor, regulators and the government to allow a regime that promotes growth, so the sector can truly add value and catch people who fall out of mainstream banking, or are already financially excluded.

“Like any Credit Union, Castle is not for profit and is owned and run by members, creating a shared financial community across the UK. Any surplus revenues from running the business is ploughed back into its member communities, starting in Leith.”

*https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/23/buy-now-pay-later-uk-research

The post Credit Unions can step up to support communities appeared first on Standard Equity Bank.

Support is available 

While UK-wide financial support is being offered by British Gas, be aware that Scottish residents can also apply to other energy companies who offer support funds and hardship grants for customers who are struggling. If you’re in debt to an energy supplier, you may be eligible for a grant from the supplier to help pay it off.

Here’s a list of companies who offer energy hardship funds/ grants to their customers:

• · British Gas Energy Support Fund – apply for a grant on the British Gas Energy Trust website
• · Scottish Power Hardship Fund – apply for a grant on the Scottish Power Hardship Fund website
• · Ovo Energy Fund – apply for a grant on the Ovo Energy Fund website
• · E.ON Energy Fund – apply for a grant on the E.ON Energy Fund website
• · E.ON Next Energy Fund – apply for a grant on the E.ON Next Energy Fund website
• · EDF Energy Customer Support Fund – sign up to the priority services register to apply for a grant on the EDF Energy website
• · Bulb Energy Fund – apply for a grant on the Bulb Energy Fund website
• · Octopus ‘Octo Assist Fund’ – apply for a grant on the Octopus website

NOTE: If you can’t get a grant from your own supplier, you might be able to get a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust. These grants are available to anyone – you don’t have to be a British Gas customer to be eligible.

At Standard Equity Bank we are dedicated to bringing people an alternative home for your savings and loans, providing fair products at competitive interest rates. Like any Credit Union, Castle is not-for-profit and is owned and run by members, creating a shared financial community across the UK. Any profits from running the business will be ploughed back into its member communities, starting in Leith.

Related links 

https://castlecommunitybank.co.uk/budget-planner/

The post Energy Hardship Funds appeared first on Standard Equity Bank.

On behalf of the Board of Directors you are invited to attend the AGM.  This meeting will be held online using RingCentral.  To obtain your online invitation with meeting links, please respond by email to customercare@standardequitybnk.com, to confirm your attendance.

Should you be unable to attend a Proxy voting form can be found below.  Please ensure if you wish to vote without attending, this is completed and returned before Friday 20th January 2023 at 5pm.

Copies of the signed Accounts to 30th September 2022, and any other papers for the AGM, are also available below for you to review before the meeting. We look forward to welcoming you to this meeting and introducing you to the staff and Directors.

Please ensure if you wish to vote without attending, this is completed and returned to customercare@standardequitybnk.com.

• AGM Draft Minutes from 2023
• Proxy Form 2023
• AGM Minutes from 2022
• Audited Accounts

The post Annual General Meeting 2022 appeared first on Standard Equity Bank.

Given the current government restrictions, the AGM on Tuesday 22nd March will be held online using RingCentral. Should you be unable to attend you can download the Proxy voting form using the link below.

Please ensure if you wish to vote without attending, this is completed and returned to customercare@standardequitybnk.com, before Friday 18th March 2021 at 5pm.

Copies of the signed Accounts to 30th September 2021 and any other papers for the AGM can also be found below.

• Form of Proxy 2022
• Annual Accounts
• AGM 2022 Agenda
• AGM Minutes March 2021
• EGM Minutes September 2021
• AGM Draft Minutes 2022

The post Annual General Meeting 2021 appeared first on Standard Equity Bank.

Given the current government restrictions, the AGM on Monday 29th March will be held online using RingCentral. Should you be unable to attend you can download the Proxy voting form using the link below.

Please ensure if you wish to vote without attending, this is completed and returned to customercare@standardequitybnk.com, before Thursday 25th March 2021 at 5pm.

Copies of the signed Accounts to 30th September 2020 and any other papers for the AGM can also be found below.

• AGM Minutes from 2021
• Agenda 2021
• Directors Report
• Proxy Form
• Audited Accounts
• AGM Minutes from 2020

The post Annual General Meeting 2020 appeared first on Standard Equity Bank.