Credit Union shares last year’s financial report with members |19 August 2013

The Seychelles Credit Union (SCU) held its annual general meeting on Saturday giving its members details of the financial reports of the year 2012 and recent decisions taken by its board.

During the meeting, held at the International Conference Centre, the most common issue raised was related to the recent robbery at the SCU and the termination of Emile Esparon’s appointment as chief executive.

The board’s chairperson Selby Dora said the decision to terminate his appointment was taken after an internal investigation was done taking into account several key aspects, but added that the case is still being investigated by the police.

Many members voiced out concerns relating to the robbery and how this affects their assets with the bank.

A 5.8% growth in the SCU’s membership has been recorded in 2012, with a total of 12,379 compared to 11,696 in 2011.

Presenting the accounts for 2012, the board’s technical expert Louis Sham Hong noted that total assets for 2012 increased to R181,923 million.

A total of 1,183 loans were given in 2012 to members compared to 973 in 2011. Repayment of these loans by members still remains a concern for the SCU.

The SCU’s income for the year 2012 was R16,621 million, expenses at R14,472 million and its surplus was R2,149 million.

Total members’ funds which include savings, fixed deposits and shares rose to R158 million in 2012, from R142.7 million the previous year. This represents a 10.7% growth which is R15.3 million.
Retained earnings and reserves in 2012 were at R14,812 million, showing an improvement of R1.1 million from 2011.
The SCU presently has 36 staff members on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue.

Among projects in the pipeline for 2013 is the installation of ATM, debit card, internet and mobile phone banking as well as foreign exchange service.

The SCU is run by a board of directors chaired by Selby Dora. There is also a supervisory committee and credit committee.

Bernard Elizabeth has replaced Mr Esparon as SCU’s chief executive. The latter however retains his position as an elected member of the board of directors.

SCU continues to be a member of the World Council of Credit Unions and the African Confederation of Cooperative Savings and Credit Associations.