About us

Sheffield Credit Union

About Us

Sheffield Credit Union is a financial co-operative that exists for the benefit of our members who live or work in Sheffield. Our mission is to provide our members with access to reasonably priced financial services and encourage the development of good financial practice.

Supporting the communities where we live and work has always been an important part of our business philosophy. As a community-based and member-owned financial institution, Sheffield Credit Union is committed to doing business in a way that contributes to the social and economic well being of the communities in which we operate.

Sheffield Credit Union has been very successful in helping people gain a greater measure of control over their personal finances. We are an effective means of teaching the value of voluntary action and community development. The members are the Credit Union.

Members of the Credit Union collectively pool their savings and that money in turn is lent to members. After operating expenses and reserve requirements are met, loan income is returned to members in the form of a dividend and comprehensive financial services.

-The members own and control the Credit Union
-The Credit Union deals only with its members
-The members decide on the distribution of surpluses
-The Credit Union management is of a voluntary nature.

Sheffield Credit Union is not a bank but we offer many similar services. UK Credit Unions, like banks and other financial institutions, are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Key members of staff and elected volunteers involved in the running of the Credit Union must be approved by the FSA. The performance of each Credit Union is monitored on an ongoing basis with regular reviews and reporting required.

Today, there are over 600 registered Credit Unions in the United Kingdom, which provide a valuable and unique service to over 300,000 members. Worldwide, Credit Unions operate in 97 countries around the world, serving over 172 million members.

Complaints:

The Credit Union is within the remit of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). If a member remains dissatisfied with our response to their complaint, following completion of the Credit Union internal complaints handling procedure, the member may take their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The FOS can be contacted at:

Financial Ombudsman Service

South Quay Plaza

183 Marsh Wall

London

E14 9SR

Phone: 0207 964 1000

email: enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Here is a list of our current Staff members:

Name	Role
Finance Team
Jaqueline Hallewell	Finance Manager
Simon Martin	Finance Officer
Jane Bulloss	Office Manager
Admin Team
Julie Smikil	Senior Administrator
James Bulloss	Administrator
Maria Guirdham	Administrator
Sarah Horsfield	Administrator
Kim Bingham	Administrator
Isabel Finch Noyes	Administrator
Loans Team
Brian Geary	Loans Manager
Rossalyn Wilson	Loans Officer
Paula-Louise McGuigan	Loans Officer
Zoe Nockall	Loans Officer
Louis Farrington	Loans Officer
Stacy Guirdham	Loans Officer

Jeff Halse	Credit Control Officer
Elton Kadira	Credit Control Officer

Here is a list of The Board Of Directors::

Peter Armstrong	Manager in the IT department of Sheffield University. Involved with Credit Unions since 1999 and Treasurer of SCU. Developed systems and written software to help the operation run efficiently - especially the daily receipt of many hundreds of benefit payments.
Mike Cameron	Involved with Credit Unions since 1990s. Manager in steel industry before ordination. Vicar of Beighton 1995 -06 and area Dean. Former school governor and a director of Hallam Housing Association.
Jonathan Clear	A Chartered Public Finance Accountant working for the Department for Work and Pensions. Involved with Sheffield Credit Union for almost 3 years helping to develop both the financial and strategic management of SCU, Moneyline and FISY.
Howard Coussens	A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and working for the DWP. Determined to see the operation serving the needs of members as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Ian McCollough	Worked on IMPACT’s Financial Inclusion project that led to the creation of FISY, Moneyline and SCU. Led on liaising with SCC and other stakeholders. Former metallurgist and ‘Faith in the City’ champion.
Fiona Greaves	Former bank manager and currently working as a business adviser/loan fund manager with predominantly new start businesses in Sheffield. Involved with Moneyline as a director since its start and SCU since 2005. Chairman of SCU since December 2009.
Paul Mosely	Paul Mosley is professor of economics at Sheffield University. His teaching and research are mainly on developing countries and he has done research on applying the principles of 'microfinance' - small loans for poor people without collateral - to the problems of low-income people in inner-city areas of Britain, including Sheffield.
Danny Roberts	Danny has been a member of Sheffield Credit union since 2004; he has worked for 30 years in the metals industries of the Sheffield region and currently lives in the Manor and Castle area of Sheffield.
Ailsa Rodgers	Founding Board member of NW Sheffield CU, one of original community CUs that amalgamated to form Sheffield CU. Board member since formation, Chair of Board for 4 years Retired Clinical Scientist. Also worked for about 8 years as worker/director of Sheffield Occupational Health Project, a not-for profit co-operative providing advice on health and safety at work in GPs surgeries. A school governor at various Sheffield primary and secondary schools for about 30 years including spells as Chair of Board and Chair of Staffing and Personnel committees
Chris Ursell	Involved with Credit Unions since 1999. Formerly acted as Treasurer and recently as Secretary of SCU. Career as a programmer/analyst for HSBC.
Maxine Stavrianakos	Manager of the Income Management Unit of Sheffield Homes, the arms length management organisation that manages the City Council’s housing stock. First became involved with the Credit Union in 2006 when I became involved in Sheffield’s successful bid for beacon status for Financial Inclusion.
Maureen Aitken	Involved with Credit Unions since 1999. Retired maths teacher. Worked on IMPACT’s Financial Inclusion project that led to the creation of FISY, Moneyline and SCU.