A community bank which protects thousands of members in Milton Keynes from going to pay day lenders has announced it is merging with Wiltshire and Swindon Credit Union to 'protect its future'.
Swan Community Bank is a not-for-profit financial cooperative which helps around 3,000 members in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire.
The chair of the community bank has announced it is merging with Wiltshire and Swindon Credit Union (WASCU) in Wiltshire and Swindon and operate under the name of Acorn Community Bank from today, April 3rd.
The bank will provide services in Swindon, Reading, Oxford, and Milton Keynes as well as Wiltshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
Community banks, also known as credit unions, are owned and ran by their members.
Swan board chair Steve Eyre, who helped found Swan in 2010, said uncertainty over the future of its outsourced IT system meant it had to find another partner to be sure of surviving. “We have needed to modernise our back office for a long time but it has been extremely difficult and it has hampered our operation,” he said.
Swan’s directors approached several credit unions about a merger but after meeting with the WASCU board they were convinced. “The more we talked the better it looked and we settled on this being our preferred option from fairly on in the process really,” said Mr Eyre, who retired from his post at the end of March.
“If we didn’t do this I don’t see how we would survive, we have been straight with members about this in meetings we’ve held with them – it was absolutely essential for us.”
Mr Eyre said the merger is a good fit for Swan and its members. “It is of a similar size, a community based credit union with shared values and clearly a team that is doing well,” he said. “They have an IT system that works well, and equips them for expansion. They provide excellent service to their members, and that’s a big attraction.”
Swan was formed from the merger of two credit unions Milton Keynes and Aylesbury and in 2021 it merged with Oxfordshire Credit Union. Three members of staff and two directors, including treasurer Philip Turnbull, will join the Acorn Community Bank. All of Swan’s staff work remotely so their work, and the support they offer members, will be unchanged, said Mr Eyre.
He added: “Everything will remain the same for our members. All of the directors are volunteers who are here to try and help people who need to be helped. They want to, in whatever form, be able to carry on doing that.”
He said for members with loans, it will be business as usual, with repayments continuing as before.
Acorn Community Bank chair Nick Gallop said the merger will mean it doubles in size. “It will allow us to benefit from economies of scale and give us new opportunities to grow,” he said.
“Everyone who has an account with Swan will maintain the same kind of account under the same terms, we won’t be forcing changes on anyone. We are proud to have won Smart Money People’s award for Best Credit Union (South). The merger will also allow us to exploit the potential of our new IT system.”
Last year Acorn invested in a new IT system to modernise its systems and introduce new loans and has already introduced a simple banking app. New types of lending will follow.
Said Mr Gallop: “We are excited about our new technology and the merger. These take us to a new level and allow us to provide better, flexible and accessible services without losing the personal touch that has been a lifeline to so many people.
“While we are growing, we want to keep the community focus that sets us apart.”
Find out about Acorn Community Bank’s services here.
