Police Credit Union
Serve and Protect Credit Union is an umbrella brand of Police Credit Union Limited - a not-for-profit financial institution that supports over 30,000 members. It's head office is based in Birmingham, England.
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| Credit union | |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1986; 33 years ago |
| Headquarters | Guardians House, 2111 Coventry Road, Sheldon, Birmingham, B26 3EA |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people |
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| Products | Savings, Loans |
| Total assets | £63.2 Million (Q4, 2019) |
| Members | 30,280 (Q4, 2019) |
| Website | www |
The credit union was the result of a number of mergers with fellow police credit unions in 2003. It is now one of the largest credit unions in Britain, supporting over employees from the Police, Prison & Probation Service, British Armed Forces, Fire and Rescue Service and the Health and Social Care market through it's tailored brands: Police CU, Prison CU, Military CU, Fire CU and Health CU.
For the financial year 2018/2019, Serve and Protect had assets of around £63.2 million, with a total savings balance of £54.9 million, and a loan portfolio of approximately £42.8 million.
The credit union operates under the terms of the Co-operatives and Community Benefit Act Societies 2014 and the Credit Union Act 1979. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It is also a member of the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL).
History
Police Credit Union was originally formed in 1986 as West Midlands Police Credit Union. The credit union was established by several employees from the West Midlands Police force. West Midlands Police Credit Union later became known as Mid West Police Credit Union in 1997, before adopting the name Police Credit Union in 2003. Merseyside Police Credit Union (established 1988) and Money Mate Credit Union (established 1997 and known as Avon and Somerset Constabulary Credit Union until 1999) transferred engagements to Police Credit Union in 2003, followed by Northumbria Police Credit Union (established 1988) and Devon and Cornwall Constabulary Credit Union (established 1990) in 2004.
In 2012, Police Credit Union expanded its membership to include all personnel working for the Prison Service and Probation Service. This made prison service officers, senior officers in prison and related service and probation officers eligible to join the credit union.
In 2015, Police Credit Union opened its membership further, to include the British Armed Forces. With the support of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Police Credit Union began to provide financial services to members of the Royal Navy, British Army and the Royal Air Force, including: Service personnel Reservists and Veterans.
Police Credit Union runs a payroll deduction scheme in conjunction with a number of providers to facilitate monthly salary deductions, including a number of police forces, Her Majesty's Prison Service and the Scottish Prison Service, and the Ministry of Defence.
In 2020, the credit union launched it's umbrella brand - Serve and Protect Credit Union - to sit above it's tailored brands for each market. In response to COVID-19, the credit union went onto launch it's Fire CU and Health CU brands in August 2020 to provide more support to key workers.
Membership
As with all credit unions, membership to Police Credit Union is limited to individuals sharing the criteria set within its common bond. Admission to membership of Police Credit Union is restricted to:
- a. an individual who follows an occupation in the following “Minor” or “Unit” Groups of the Office of National Statistics’ Standard Occupational Classification:
- I. 331 Protective Services Occupations
- II. 411 Administrative Occupations: Government and Related Organisations
- III. 117 Senior Officers in Protective Services
- IV. 244 Welfare Professionals
- b. an individual associated with other members by virtue of receiving a pension as a result of following the occupations listed in (a).
- c. an individual who is a member of the same household as, and is a relative of, an individual who is a member of the Credit Union and falls directly within (a) or (b) of the common bond specified above.
- d. A body corporate, an individual in his/her capacity as a partner in a partnership, an individual in his/her capacity as an officer or member of the governing body of an unincorporated association, if the body corporate, partnership or unincorporated association is associated with the individuals in (a) or (b) above in the following way:-
- I. It employs or otherwise engages persons who follow the above occupations and/or associated occupations
- II. It relates to the above occupations and/or associated occupations in the following way:-
- It is a provider of and/or employs or otherwise engages individuals involved in trade union, credit union, social and welfare, ancillary or contracted services to the above occupations and/or associated occupations.
Organisation
The credit union operates through a number of local branches and regional offices in Bristol, Exeter, Liverpool, Stockton-on-Tees and Welwyn Garden City. At the end of the 2018/19 financial year, operating expenses are deducted from income and a dividend based on any surplus is paid gross to savers. In 2019, the board recommended a dividend of 1% at the Annual General Meeting.