2022 was the year in which Ballina Credit Union saw its assets exceed €100m for the very first time in the organisation’s 65-year history.

And, despite interest rate increases by a many other financial institutions, Ballina Credit Union has not increased its interest rates for members and currently has no plans to do so.

Members were given this information at the annual general meeting of Ballina Credit Union, which took place in the Great National Hotel Ballina on Monday, 30th January.

Mark Winters was re-elected as Chairperson for the year ahead, with David Dwane as Vice-Chairperson and Fionn Sweeney as Secretary. The Directors for the upcoming year are: Mark Winters, David Dwane, Fionn Sweeney, Margaret Reddington, Stuart Edmeades, John Carroll, Jacqueline Kinsella, Patricia Ruane and Declan Naughton. Board Oversight Committee members are Sean McDonnell, Ann Conlon and Eimear Thornton.

When the member-owned financial cooperative was first set up in Ballina in January 1968, its asset base was £68. In 2022 that figure had reached €101.69 million.

Ballina Credit Union closed the year with an excess of income over expenditure of €617,136, an increase of €137,213 on the previous year’s figure. In total the Credit Union issued over €8.5 million in new loans to members throughout the year. The loan balance at the end of the year (September 2022) was €17.769 million, equating to a drop of just €283,949 on the previous year.

Speaking at the AGM, Chairperson, Mark Winters, pointed out that there was a dampened loan appetite last year as a result of the continuation of Covid 19 and further lockdowns early in 2022, a challenge which was further exacerbated by the war between Ukraine and Russia, leading to the current cost of living crisis that is affecting the country.

Mark also noted that, having launched Current Accounts and Debit Card facilities in July 2021, Ballina Credit Union issued a total of 1,195 new debit cards throughout the financial year.

“This is evidence that more and more members of our community are turning to the Credit Union as their core financial services provider,” he said.

The annual accounts for 2022 were reported to the members by Ciarán Loftus of O'Mara Loftus and Co. Ltd and approved by the Central Bank.

Ballina Credit Union’s debit card, which facilitates contactless payments through Google Pay, Apple Pay and Fitbit Pay, and can be used at ATMs, is now available to all members.

You can apply online at www.ballinacu.ie or telephone 096-71066.