Marlene Shiels

The union has posted its half year results and revealed its loan book is up 25% on the same period last year, to stand at £25,608,192. Other highlights include a 10% increase in membership on 2023 and six new partnerships with employers.

CCU’s chief executive, Marlene Shiels, said: “This has been a really strong performance over the last six months and our figures are impressive.

“There is no doubt we are benefiting from an increased awareness of credit unions and the ethical services they provide, allied to a competitive portfolio of loans, mortgage and savings products.

“We’re seen as a credible alternative to mainstream banks and have attracted over 2,500 new members in the last six months alone.

“We’ve also signed up new partnerships with employers such as the University of Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland and Alzheimer Scotland offering their staff added benefits and privileged access to our products.

“We now have links with 91 businesses and would encourage others to get in touch to see how we can help their staff.”

CCU’s results include a record month of lending in February this year, when it issued almost £1.1m of loans, an increase of 36% on the same month in 2023. It now has almost £35m of members’ savings on deposit.

Ms Shiels added: “Going forward we would like to see an increase in the number of people saving with us to help them achieve a level of financial resilience.

“Recent research and surveys highlight alarmingly poor figures with half of all people under 35 having no savings at all.”