NACUW Conference and AGM 2010

NACUW Conference and AGM 2010
Thursday 21^st October 2010
International Credit Union Day

"Financial Inclusion ... what next for Credit Unions?"
Mick McAteer, Director of The Financial Inclusion Centre
Alternative Solutions to meet core financial needs of consumers excluded from markets (view presentation slides)
While we know that financial exclusion is a serious problem, there is a major gap in our understanding of the root causes of financial exclusion and under provision, and what interventions actually work to overcome the underlying causes. Moreover, there are major gaps in our understanding of how exclusion affects specific groups of consumers or regions in the UK. Mick McAteer will provide his thoughts on what is needed to make real progress in promoting financial inclusion and the potential role of the third sector.
Mick McAteer is most famous for his role as Which? Principal Policy Adviser, a position he quit in July 2006 after 13 years. He is also founder and director of The Financial Inclusion Centre, an independent, not-for-profit think-tank that aims to promote properly regulated financial markets.


Barbara Hann, Secretary, ACE Credit Union Services
Rising to the challenges of the Legislative Reform Order for Credit Unions (view presentation slides and additional notes)
ACE Credit Union Services is a national credit union support organisation which has been in operation for ten years. About 45 credit unions based in England, Scotland, Wales and Jersey are currently affiliated to ACE. Barbara Hann represents ACE on the National Credit Union Liaison Group and has been involved in rewriting model rules which will allow affiliated credit unions to take full advantage of the Credit Unions' LRO.


Jerry Burrows, Credit Union Consultant, Unity Trust Bank (see presentation slides)
Making sense of the Prepaid Card revolution
The new Unity Trust Bank prepaid card, ALTO, was launched earlier this year. UTB believes that the card could revolutionise the way credit unions conduct their business and interface with their members and have a massive impact on the lives of members, enabling them to overcome some of the toughest barriers to financial inclusion. We all know that there is a massive range of prepaid cards available to credit unions in the UK and that choosing one card from another can be a nightmare. As a specialist bank for social enterprises and credit unions, does the UTB prepaid card offer something different which could have a real impact on the lives of our financially excluded members and on the long term sustainability of our credit unions?


Workshop (a) The Role of Local Authorities in delivering Financial Inclusion (view presentation slides)


Workshop (b) How to plan strategically to get maximum benefits from the Legislative Reform Order changes
Angela Clements, Chief Executive Officer, CitySave Credit Union
Angela Clements has a 15 year working history in business, commercial and corporate banking, focussed around business planning and business advice. Over the past 18 months she has been applying her skills as Chief Executive of CitySave Credit Union and over this period of time she has been working with her Board to develop a Strategic Plan that will ensure that the credit union is fully prepared to take advantage of the potential benefits that will exist once the new Legislative Reform Order for Credit Unions finally comes into force. CitySave Credit Union provides savings, lending and insurance services to over 8,000 members living or working in Birmingham and now has an asset base of over £5m, the largest community based Credit Union operating in the Midlands area. Find out how to get your credit union ready for the new legislative changes and ensure that you will be able to hit the ground running when the new opportunities arrive.


Workshop (c) Asset Based Welfare - What happens next? (view presentation slides)
Rajiv Prabhakar, London School of Economics
Dr Rajiv Prabhakar is a lecturer in personal finance at The Open University (UK) and a research fellow at the London School of Economics. He is author of The Assets Agenda (2008); Rethinking Public Services (2006); and Stake holding and New Labour (2003).
In the light of the Coalition Government's decision to scrap Child Trust Fund accounts and abandon the Saving Gateway account before it could be launched, Rajiv will say why he thinks the decision to axe asset-based welfare was a mistake and looks forward to what measures the new government will propose to help those on low incomes to become savers and achieve the Government's commitment "to helping families to take greater responsibility for their finances and to cushion themselves from future shocks." (Mark Hoban MP, July 2010)



Workshop (d) Marketing: You can't afford to? You can't afford not to! (view presentation slides)
Susan Dryburgh, Credit Union Development Officer, Fife Council
Susan Dryburgh is the Credit Union Development Officer with Fife Council and completed the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Diploma in Marketing.
Your credit union leaflet is only a tiny part of marketing. In light of the end of growth fund a more balanced membership will be required to sustain these loans without DWP revenue. Find out how to create a brand for your credit union. Ensure you are sending the right message to the right people through market segmentation and much more.