A new year is often expected to trigger periods of reflection, assessment of performances, and a determination on targets that were either achieved or have fallen short.

All this may well be appropriate, but the dawn of a new year for Credit Unions across Barbados also includes a consciousness of hope, an acceptance that not all objectives will be achieved in the period that was targeted, but that there will be opportunities to try again and to improve.

Our movement has always and will continue to prioritise our members and their needs. We are also determined, at the same time, to ensure the resilience and sustainability of individual institutions in which members have invested and placed their confidence.

It is for these reasons that we are not disconcerted by the fact that the number of credit unions on the island has contracted by one, at the end of 2023 to stand at 26. It is important to note that while this has occurred, there continues to be a steady rise in the number of persons attaining credit union membership.

There is evidence of an emerging trend that the leadership of some smaller credit unions are making the wise, strategic decision to voluntarily merge their operations to form larger and institutionally stronger units.

We at the Barbados Co-operative & Credit Union League Ltd. (BCCULL) endorse such initiatives that position credit unions to enhance the services to their members and strengthen the institutions to respond to the dynamic and evolving regulatory and compliance landscape in which we operate.

In 2023 some 7,000 more Barbadians chose credit unions as their desired financial institution, bringing the number of credit union members to 238,042. We have no doubt that there is a credit union member in nearly every household in this country.

With this level of reach and impact across Barbados, it is incumbent that the savings of such an overwhelmingly wide segment  of the population be protected through deposit insurance coverage against any major institutional incident.

And so, it was a critical win for the BCCULL and the sector when government agreed to concretise steps to make deposit insurance coverage for credit unions a reality through the Barbados Deposit Insurance Corporation (BDIC) after more than a decade of lobbying by the BCCULL.

With the establishment of the Cross Regulatory Working Group comprising representatives from the BCCULL, the Financial Services Commission, the Central Bank of Barbados, the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and the BDIC, we expect to report significant progress on this matter early in 2024.

We also want to commend our credit unions for the significant attention the sector continues to give to digital solutions  in the delivery of services, but even more important, the high priority assigned to cyber security and data protection.

Our affiliates are dedicating enormous resources and attention to this area to safeguard the integrity of our systems against bad actors who are targeting a range of commercial enterprises and individuals in the Caribbean.

Just as we are ending 2023 with pride in our accomplishments and recognition of where improvements are necessary, the Credit Union movement, of which I am extremely proud to lead as President of BCCULL, has compelling cause to be hopeful about 2024.

With the confidence of our members and the determination of credit union leaders, BCCULL, including our General Manager Mr Anthony Pilgrim and his staff wish all our brothers and sisters in the movement, and Barbadians in general, a fulfilling and productive 2024.