Northern Community Bank celebrates its 37th birthday today. We started as Nelson Community bank on St George’s Day at St George’s social centre on Vaughan Street.
On April 23rd 1982, a Saver Group was launched with just 15 members and the first collection produced a total of £75 in share savings. Now with well over 6,000 adult members and assets of over £7 million, which includes £6.2 million in collective savings. Offering access to affordable borrowing for the Burnley and Pendle communities is one of the main drivers for continuing to improving the services we provide, since Northern Community Bank was created we have lent out over £50 million to local people!
As NCCU grew from its Vaughan Street base year on year it was agreed the services should be available to the whole of Pendle, and in October 2005 NCCU merged with Colne & District Credit Union to form Pendle Community Credit Union. On the 1st October 2013 Pendle Community Credit Union merged with Burnley Area Community Credit Union to create Northern Community Bank.
Northern Community Bank has seen many progressive developments since it was created. Originally operated by volunteers we have progressed to having 15 paid members of staff who are still assisted by volunteers. The collection points at both St Leonard’s Church in Padiham and Palace House and Woodbine in Burnley are still operated by dedicated volunteers.
2018 saw Northern Community Bank purchased and totally renovated our newest branch in Burnley at 48 St James’s Street situated between Dorothy Perkins, the bustling coffee shops and Banks which line the high street. The new Burnley branch has a purpose built cashier counter, interview room, boardroom and office space. It has already been a hit with current and new account holders who love the town centre location.
Northern Community Bank recently launched the £500 Family Loan and Savings Scheme. The loan is paid with a family’s Child Benefit, with an element used for loan repayment and small amount to build savings and the surplus returned to the account holder’s bank account. The £500 Family Loan has no credit check but keeping up with repayments will help to improve the account holders credit score as Northern Community Bank report to credit agency. The online application is greatly reduced and we aim to have a loan decision and deposit the £500 within 1 working day!
Recognising account holders desire to apply for loans with ease in their own time, Northern Community Bank have again improved the online joining and loan application process over the last year with the introduction of the Join & Borrow platform. The new streamlined online loan application we hope to make applying for an affordable loan quicker, easier and more convenient for new or existing account holders.
For existing account holders the new service will severely reduce the amount of time it takes to complete a loan application. After completing security access, the account holder’s details will be prepopulated, including current balances, eliminating the need to re-enter information. An additional benefit of the new platform is the ability to attach supporting documents to the application, such as bank statement, proof of new address or wage slips.
Northern Community Bank’s savers were paid a competitive dividend of 0.75% again this year. For an instant access savings accounts this is very competitive and holds its own when compared to some ISA and other saving options which have withdrawal penalties.
As a financial co-operative that operates solely for the benefit of the local community we are always looking for ways to improve. If you have any suggestions please get in touch.
As always Northern Community Bank will also strive to push forward and this year will be no different. Thank you for your continued support, Northern Community Bank would not have developed without you – the account holders who own the Community Bank.
