The Banjul International Airport Co-operative Credit Union (BIACCU) gave more to members as loan than it received as savings in 2011.
The 1033 members of the BIACCU saved eleven million two-hundred
and fifty thousand nine hundred and fifty dalasis (D11,250,950) in 2011 and the
union disbursed eleven million five hundred and sixteen thousand one hundred
and ninety-one (D11,516,191) to members as loan during the year under review.
However, the treasurer of the Union said, with pride, that
only a little number of the members that did not benefit from its loan scheme.
At the 9th Annual General Meeting of the BIACCU
held on 17 May at the Airport, Edrissa Gassama, treasurer of the union,
said that in 2011 members’ savings did increase from D9,483,722 in 2010 to
D11,250,950 in 2011.
“This represents an increase of 19% in relative terms in
2011, which indeed is a large sum of money saved by members, and it shows
members awareness and commitment to saving,” he said.
With regard to loans, Mr Gassama said the credit union had
satisfactorily disbursed loan to applicants on the basis of first come first
serve. The loan given in 2011 represented
an increment of 19% from D9,639,303 in 2010 to D11,516,191 in 2011. “This is a big achievement for all of us,” he
added.
With the high interest rates charged by banks in the
country, members of credit unions are now resorting to loans from their unions
than going to the banks to take loan with its rigorous requirements for
collateral coupled with the prohibited interest rate.
