At the annual general meeting in Wauchope Country Club on Friday October 26, the annual report for 2018 showed:

The following people were directors during or since the end of the financial year:

Mr Parsons said the group is in a sound financial position, with total assets of $607.7m.

Loans and advances to members increased, as did deposits from members.

Since 2005, the HCCU has given back $1.95m in community grants to 500 projects in this area.

“It’s part of our charter – to look after our community as well,” said Mr Parsons. 

Chairman Jeff Pattinson said the Holiday Coast Credit Union has had its best financial result in more than 10 years.

“Remembering that this has been achieved during a period of low interest rates and thus small margins between loan and deposit rates, it is a particularly good result,” he said.

“Credit for this result must go to the senior management team, who have been able to drive down the operational costs whilst maintaining sustainable growth in residential lending, our key income driver.”

Referring to the Banking Royal Commission, he said the credit union sector hold and practise higher standards already when it comes to members.

“Unlike banks, our members are our owners and we exist for them, not for the success of the business itself and its shareholders,” he said.

Mr Pattinson said the HCCU’s financial stability was dependent upon the level of capital (largely retained profits) they were able to hold and maintain.

“For the member this can be regarded as security that your deposits are well managed and can be accessed at any time, and that borrowers can be confident that the organisation’s assets are on a solid footing and are conservatively valued,” said the chairman.

A key challenge for the board, he added, was to keep investing in new technologies and new products to remain competitive and give members access to the latest in digital banking services.

“The Board will be actively seeking to refresh its composition with the recruitment of more women on the Board, as well as a better balance of younger and experienced directors,” said Mr Pattinson.

He concluded by thanking the directors for their contributions, and congratulating Chief Executive Officer, Neville Parsons, his senior management team, and all the HCCU staff for their outstanding commitment to the organisation, and for the excellent results achieved under very challenging circumstances.