UCC Co-operative Credit Union holds annual general meeting

By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA
Cape Coast (CUA), March 24, GNA - the University of Credit Union recorded an impressive improvement in the major performance areas with its total assets growing from GH¢12,335,043.02 in 2015 to GH¢15,839,768.72 in 2016.

This represented a growth of 28.4 per cent.
The credit union realised a net profit of GH¢1,023,694.55, representing a 29.11 per cent increase over the GH¢ 792,880.70 netted in the previous year.

The Board Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Paul Owusu, who announced this at its 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM), said the Board was, therefore, proposing to pay a 25 per cent dividend on the shares of members, the highest ever in the history of the Union.

The Board Chairman said this was against the 10 per cent and 15 per cent paid in the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 financial year.

The Credit Union also made a total income of GH¢2,247,361.51 at the close of the year under review as against GH¢1,684,652.35 in 2015.

It recorded a total of GH¢1,223,666.96 operating expenses as against GH¢ 891,771.65 in the previous year.

Mr Owusu said it also made a 7.3 per cent net surplus on the average asset in 2016 as against seven per cent of the previous year's record.

Mr Owusu said a total of GH¢10,117,496 loans were granted in 2015/2016 financial year, representing a growth of 37 per cent as against GH¢ 7,378,723.00 in 2014/2015.

He said its educational outreach programmes had yielded good results in bringing on board 355 new payroll members, getting its membership to 5,263.

He mentioned that plans were far advanced to open an agency in one of the surrounding communities to encourage non-staff membership for improved savings mobilisation.

The Board Chairman said despite the successes chalked out, the credit union was faced with the challenges of excessive savings withdrawal and multiple loan requests, thus creating liquidity crisis throughout the financial year.

Nana Kwesi Adjeipong, the General Manager of the Ghana Co-operative Credit Union, commended the efforts of UCC Credit Union for starting from a welfare base to one of the best credit unions in the country and urged them not to be complacent.

He urged the various credit unions to be innovative because they would soon be registered and licensed by the Bank of Ghana.

He said the registration and licensing was not to kick some credit unions out of business but was to help bring sanity in their activities because operating under the rules and regulations of the Bank of Ghana enhance confidence.

Mr Emmanuel Oduro Darko, the former General Manager of CUA underscored the need to save and advised the public to inculcate the character of saving.

The Vice Chancellor of UCC, Professor Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, in a speech read on his behalf commended the Union for helping to reduce the pressure on the University in terms of granting salary advance, car loans and other facilities to its workers.

GNA