A special event has celebrated two decades of a St Albans organisation set up to those who have difficulty in accessing mainstream financial services.
Mayor Cllr Edgar Hill and MP Daisy Cooper were present to help mark the milestone anniversary for St Albans Community Bank at St Paul’s Church.
The St Albans and District Credit Union, trading as St Albans Community Bank since 2021, was setup in 2002. It currently has 1,600 members and members’ savings have grown to over £1.2 million.
Since its formation, the organisation has granted over 2,000 loans and in total has lent over £2.7 million.
At the celebratory event, Chair Isabel Dolan referred to the Community Bank’s work over the years in association with other local bodies and organisations, noting particularly the loan schemes it has run for both the St Albans district council (SADC) and Herts county council (HCC).
Both the Mayor and Daisy Cooper congratulated the Community Bank on providing its important services to the St Albans community over the past two decades.
Cllr Hill said: “As budgets are being stretched, organisations such as the St Albans Community Bank become worth their weight in gold. Anything we can do to heighten their profile must be a good thing.”
Daisy added: “It was an absolute pleasure to meet the volunteers and founder members of this organisation, which has played an important part in our community for more than 20 years now. With the cost-of-living emergency really starting to bite, it’s not just the less fortunate in our community who may struggle – anyone who needs a short-term loan should know that the St Albans Community Bank stands ready to help, if they can. I'm grateful to all the staff and volunteers here for doing such important work for those who need it, both now and in the future."
The St Albans Community Bank’s office is at 55 Catherine Street, St Albans, AL3 5BN and is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10am to 12.30pm, and can be further contacted on telephone: 01727 859135 and by email at office@stalbanscommunitybank.co.uk.
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