The Association of British Credit Unions Limited, commonly known as ABCUL, is the leading trade association for credit unions in Great Britain.
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| Founded | 1984 (1967) |
|---|---|
| Type | Industrial and Provident Society |
| Location |
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| Website | abcul.org |
ABCUL represents around 70% of credit unions who in turn provide services to 85% of the British credit union membership.[1] The Irish League of Credit Unions organises in Northern Ireland on an all-island basis.[2] Both ABCUL and ILCU are members of the European Network of Credit Unions and World Council of Credit Unions.
History
editIn 1967, Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union and other West Indian credit unions formed the Credit Union League of Great Britain, which became the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) in 1984.[3]
Separately, in 1964, Wimbledon Credit Union joined forces with two other credit unions operating from Roman Catholic churches in Highgate and Hove to form the National Federation of Savings and Co-operative Credit Unions; this later became the National Federation of Credit Unions (NATFED). The federation and the league agreed in 1967 to form a single national organisation, but the project never became reality and the federation continued separately until its dissolution in 2000.[4]
In fact, the two bodies came to represent distinct factions within the early movement: ABCUL represented industrial credit unions exclusively, while NATFED affiliates were drawn from community credit unions. Furthermore, whereas ABCUL pursued a growth-orientated strategy of individual member unions achieving critical mass and market share, NATFED placed greater emphasis on self-help and expansion through the proliferation of smaller member unions.[5]
The Ulster Federation of Credit Unions, which grew out of the Northern Ireland Regional Association of the National Federation in 1995, provides an alternative to the Irish League with a distinct Ulster British identity.[6]
Activities
editIn common with its member credit unions, ABCUL is registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. It is governed by a board of directors who are elected by the members.
The Credit Union Foundation Limited is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee with a board of trustees consisting of the directors of ABCUL and independent trustees. As a registered charity, the Foundation's rules allow it to carry out a different but complementary role to that of ABCUL.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Making a Difference Archived 2015-02-28 at the Wayback Machine Association of British Credit Unions (retrieved 9 February 2015)
- ^ About the Irish League of Credit Unions Archived February 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Irish League of Credit Unions (retrieved 9 February 2015)
- ^ "50 years of credit unions in Britain" (PDF). Credit Union News. 16 (1). Association of British Credit Unions. March 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
- ^ Voinea, Anca (26 March 2014). "ABCUL marks the 50th anniversary of the first credit union in Britain". Co-operative News.
- ^ Bickerstaffe, Tim George (September 2001). The Significance of the Common Bond In Credit Unions (PDF). The University of Leeds, Department of Sociology and Social Policy. p. 7-10.
- ^ "The UFCU Success Story". Ulster Federation of Credit Unions. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ About the Foundation The Credit Union Foundation (retrieved 11 February 2015)