1 month ago
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Members of COK Sodality Co-operative Credit Union Limited voted overwhelmingly in favour of merging with C&WJ Co-operative Credit Union, C&WJCCU, at a meeting on Saturday.
At the standing room only event, 206 of the 213 persons present voted for the merger via a ‘transfer of engagements’ and four against. There were three abstentions.
The next hurdle for the deal is a special general meeting of C&WJCCU, who will cast their vote on November 23. For they deal to proceed, a majority of them would have to vote for the merger.
A merger between the two Kingston-headquartered institutions would significantly transform the credit union landscape in Jamaica. The merged entity would have as many as 400,000 members, the largest ever in the history of the credit union movement in Jamaica.
COK Sodality currently has 250,000 members, with four branches, down from five, having closed its Winchester branch recently. As of September 2024, it held $13.28 billion in assets, and managed a loan portfolio estimated at $8.9 billion. Savings stood at $10.8 billion.
C&WJCCU presently has about 150,000 members spread across 19 branches. Its network covers most parishes, excluding St Thomas, Portland, St Catherine and Trelawny. Since 2010, C&WJCCU has engaged in about seven mergers, having absorbed Westmoreland Co-operative, St Elizabeth Co-operative, Clarendon Co-operative, D&G Employees Co-operative, Marine & Allied Co-operative, NWC Employees Co-operative and ICD & Associates.
As of June 2024, C&WJCCU had $26.01 billion in total assets, up from $24.52 billion in 2023. It reported a surplus of $219.98 million at year ending December 2023, down from $299.69 million in 2022.
As of June, total loans among the 26 credit unions that now make up the movement was estimated at $126.4 billion, assets totalled $182.7 billion, savings stood at $144.9 billion, and membership at 1,042,785. Were the COK Sodality-C&WJCCU merger to proceed, the combined entity would end up accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the credit union movement’s membership base.
Reporting to members at Saturday’s meeting, the COK Sodality’s leadership assured members that should the merger proceed, there would be a smooth transition of their accounts with no service interruptions or loss of benefits. Accounts will also retain their current values, and loan and savings rates will remain unchanged until members choose to renegotiate their loans or their deposits mature, COK’s leadership said.
In terms of accessibility, members would have access to wider network of 21 branches for service, and they would benefit from larger loan amounts and enhanced digital services, COK said.
The merger is expected to be executed by year end.
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