Manchester Co-operative Credit Union

NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2021 8 MCCU 70TH ANNIVERSARY Ricketts, and his assistant, the late Mr Sydney Carter. The study group moved from house to house, shar- ing the vision and philosophy of the credit union and the prospects for the future. The response was positive and so the movement grew at a very rapid pace, with the first members coming mainly from the staff of Holmwood and members of the immediate community. Also promi- nent in the study group was the late Fr John P. Sullivan, himself a pioneer of the credit union movement in Jamaica. The group was named Middlesex Co-operative Credit Union and was registered in 1948 under the Provident Society Act; that was be- fore the advent of the Co-operative Societies Act in 1950, and who took over Middlesex in 1951. During these developments, there was no paid staff and all the work was done by volunteers. An office was established upstairs the Emergency Drug Store, owned then by the late Elsie Bailey, but later moved to share office space with the Christiana People’s Co-operative Bank (the first such bank in Jamaica). The organisation filled such great need, and growth was so rapid that the visionary who was Mr F.R. Ricketts, in the face of stiff opposition from some members, acquired the dwelling house and office of the late attorney-at-lawMr George Feurtado for 4,000 pounds, and converted it into the registered office of the Middlesex Co-operative Credit Union Limited. The late Messrs Hugh Lindo and G.L. Alexander, both foundation members of Middlesex, took the message to Coleyville and there established the Coleyville Co- operative Credit Union. This also grew beyond their ability to man- age it; hence, in 1968, negotiation was entered into for the amalgama- tion of Coleyville with Middlesex. This was completed in 1972 and the new entity was named Central Co-operative Credit Union Limited. In the meantime, Mr G.W. Morgan and Mrs C. Delapenha saw a need in the Mandeville area and started the Manchester movement. This op- erated out of premises where Mrs Delapenha did business until an of- fice was acquired on Hotel Street. This credit union was not doing very well, while Central, which had become the backbone of the credit union movement in Manchester, was making steady strides. By 1977, a second amalgamation was negoti- ated with Manchester and thus was born the Manchester Co-operative Credit Union (1977) Limited. The name was chosen because the new vision was for one big parish credit union, and since there was already a ‘Manchester’, all that was needed to differentiate them was the year ‘1977’, thus Manchester (1977). Since those days we have moved into more spacious offices; em- ployed professional managers and staff; ventured into large de- velopment projects (the flagship activity being the Glencoe Housing Development); embraced technol- ogy; and impacted the lives of our members, who are largely based in the parish of Manchester. Our history also shows how growth has been achieved in many areas – social, financial, and educational. The statistics of the credit union’s performance over the past 70 years tell the rest of the story. MILESTONES AND ACHIEVEMENTS 1988 – Sydney Carter Scholarship launched. 1991 – Acquired lands and started the development of Glencoe Meadows. 1993 – Selected as one of five model credit unions. 1998 – Online, real-time networking between branches. 1999 – Introduction of remittance services. 2001 – Cambio service launched. 2003 – Modernisation of the Christiana branch. 2004 – Opening of a full-service branch in Porus. 2004 – Recipient of the Most Outstanding Parish Credit Union Award. 2004 – Recipient of the Parish Credit Union with the Highest Returns on Assets Award. 2005 – Completed refurbishing and modernisation of the Mandeville offices. 2005 – Launched website: www. manchestercreditunion.com 2006 – Official opening of Easi Access ATM, Mandeville. 2008 – Total assets exceed the $2-billion mark. 2009 – Introduction of permanent shares and tax-free savings account. 2010 – Official opening of Easi Access ATM, Christiana. 2010 – Commerce and Manufacturing Award from the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. 2011-2014 – Recipient of the Most Outstanding Parish Credit Union Award from the Jamaica Co-operat ive Credi t Union League. 2011 – Recipient of the Banking and Finance Award from the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. 2012-2014 – Runner-up Credit Union in the Mega Credit Union Category, awarded by the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League. 2013 – Transfer of Porus branch op- erations to the Mandeville branch. 2013 – Introduction of Internet banking portal (I-Bank). 2014 – Commissioning of Mobile Banking Unit. 2015 – Total assets surpass the $4-billion mark. 2015 – Recipient of Customer Service Award from the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. 2016 – Conversion to new operat- ing system. 2019 – Launch of new and im- proved website: www.mccuja.com . 2021 – Total assets surpass the $7-billion mark. FINANCIAL STATISTICS AS AT MAY 2021 • Membership: More than 48,500 • Youth savers: More than 6,500 • Total savings: $5.2 billion • Total loans: $3.4 billion • Total assets: $7.1 billion HISTORY CONTINUED FROM 7 Back-to-school fair in 2019. COMMUNITY OUTREACH