Shama Co-operative Credit Union’s (SHACCU) — of the fastest-growing credit unions in the Western Region — savings grew from GH¢2,348.725 in 2013 to 3,777,082, representing an increase of 58.3%.
Loans, disbursed to members also rose from GH¢2,450.221in 2013 as against GH¢1,603,745 in 2014, showing an increase of 52.7%.
Mr. Joseph Arthur, Board Chairman of SHACCU said this at the 6th Annual General Meeting at Shama. He said SHACCU recorded a surplus of GH¢150, 777 in 2014, which is 53.7% above that of GH¢98,114 in 2013 — the surplus of the union is increasing year after year, which is a very positive development and the union must be commended.
Mr. Kweku Addo, the General Manager of SHACCU, added that assets also grew from GH¢2.9million in 2013 to GH¢4.6million in 2014, representing a growth of 59% while net worth remained steady at 13.3%. “Capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.7%, which is above the standard of 15% — our liquidity reserve stood at 33.3%, also above the standard of 18%” he said.
According to him, SHACCU recorded a net profit of GH¢150, 000 representing an increment of 54% over 2013 profit — the growth in total assets was largely funded by a corresponding 65% growth in deposits. Also, he said deposits during the financial year under review increased from GH¢2.13million in 2013 to GH¢3.8million for 2014.
“With a strong liquidity and net worth, we are in good position to join forces with the Guaranty Trust (GT) Bank (Ghana); in March this year an agreement was signed between us for cheque clearing and salary payments for government workers, and three months later it became official,” he said.
Currently, over 60 teachers have received their salaries through this agreement and 380 members are using the SHACCU cheque book to withdraw cash from four branches of SHACCU at any of the GT Bank across the country.
He said as part of SHACCU’s social responsibility, the union donated office chairs, cabinets, ceiling fans and table-top fridge to the psychiatric unit of the Shama Health Centre.
“In 2015, our key objective is to continue to project SHACCU as the financial institution of choice that offers the most reliable, convenient and useful bank solutions — we are keen on improving our services to make them more accessible to our members by opening more branches, introducing the cheque system, payrolls, SMS alerts and ATMs,” he added.