Members of the island’s largest credit union, the Barbados Public Workers’ Cooperative Credit Union Limited (BPWCCUL), are being assured that the financial institution remains stable and governance remains strong.
This assurance has come from chief operations officer Richard Kennedy, amid questions about the governance and financial operations of BPWCCUL’s subsidiary, CAPITA Financial Services Inc.
“I would say there should be no concerns. The credit union remains very stable,” he asserted. “We continue to see growth . . . . It is a place that all members can feel very comfortable knowing that we have measures in place to ensure it remains a very stable and safe place for members to keep their money and do business.”
Over the past few weeks, residents have raised concerns about the departure, subsequent return and then recent firing of CAPITA’s chief executive officer Paul Maxwell, as well as issues relating to the annual general meeting held last month and the delay in completing audited financial statements for CAPITA.
Among other concerns was whether the development was having a negative impact on BPWCCUL, which boasts 115 000 members and had total assets of $1.673 billion and total deposits of $1.453 billion as of March 31, 2022.
However, Kennedy sought to assure that there was no need to worry as deposits at the credit union remained safe and well governed.
He said the recent developments involving CAPITA Financial have had no impact on the credit union’s operations and indicated that “our growth continues to be consistent”.
“We see just short of 500 members joining on a monthly basis and we have not seen any changes in that. We continue to see growth in both of our portfolios,” Kennedy said.
“Do people have concerns? Absolutely. They have come to us and asked the questions, but the team has been able to assure the members that their funds are safe . . . . Our members have confidence in us.
“We still have a very strong management team in place that continues to manage the credit union in a very effective manner. Within the last financial year, we have seen continued growth in our deposits – our savings portfolio has done very well – and our loans portfolio continues to grow, particularly in the areas of mortgages. So, the credit union’s management continues to be very strong,” the BPWCCUL official added.
Financial statements for CAPITA Financial have since been completed and submitted to the regulators, but the delay resulted in the company being fined $18 500 by the Central Bank.
Kennedy cited a change in auditors for the delay in completing those financial statements.
He added that members will be able to raise specific questions about CAPITA Financial when they attend the special general meeting scheduled for Saturday, January 14 at 1 p.m., at the Frank Collymore Hall.
Individuals can register on the credit union’s website to join the meeting online and will be able to use the last login information from their registration for the annual general meeting in December.
“Members can then sit and ask the hard questions and understand what happened and what we have put in place to address the concerns they have,” Kennedy said, as he declined to address issues related to the one-stop financial services company.
He told Barbados TODAY that prior to the recent developments, the credit union had been involved in occasional governance reviews.
“We have been engaging the regulator, not only the Financial Services Commission but also the Central Bank, to make sure things are being done in the way they ought to be. This is not something that we started in response to the noise we are hearing in the market recently, but for the last few months we have been working with the regulators,” he said.
Kennedy said the credit union would continue to look for ways to improve its operations, while noting that over the past few years, the financial institution has undergone several positive changes, including ramping up its online banking options.
The BPWCCUL is expected to be onboarded to the automated clearing house system by the end of next month, which will result in the seamless facilitation of financial transactions including direct deposits, payroll and other payment services.
