The Association of British Credit Unions Limited, commonly known as ABCUL, is the leading trade association for
credit unions
A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts ( cheque accounts), credit ...
in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
.
ABCUL represents around 70% of credit unions who in turn provide services to 85% of the British credit union membership. The
Irish League of Credit Unions organises in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
on an all-island basis. Both ABCUL and ILCU are members of the European Network of Credit Unions and
World Council of Credit Unions
The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) is an international trade association and development agency for credit unions headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. WOCCU aims to improve lives through credit unions and other financial cooperatives th ...
.
History
In 1967,
Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union and other West Indian credit unions formed the Credit Union League of Great Britain, which became the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) in 1984.
Separately, in 1964, Wimbledon Credit Union joined forces with two other credit unions operating from
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
churches in
Highgate
Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...
and
Hove
Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove.
Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...
to form the National Federation of Savings and Co-operative Credit Unions; this later became the National Federation of Credit Unions (NATFED). The federation and the league agreed in 1967 to form a single national organisation, but the project never became reality and the federation continued separately until its dissolution in 2000.
In fact, the two bodies came to represent distinct factions within the early movement: ABCUL represented industrial credit unions exclusively, while NATFED affiliates were drawn from community credit unions. Furthermore, whereas ABCUL pursued a growth-orientated strategy of individual member unions achieving critical mass and market share, NATFED placed greater emphasis on self-help and expansion through the proliferation of smaller member unions.
The Ulster Federation of Credit Unions, which grew out of the Northern Ireland Regional Association of the National Federation in 1995, provides an alternative to the Irish League with a distinct Ulster British identity.
Activities
In common with its member credit unions, ABCUL is registered under the
Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. It is governed by a board of directors who are elected by the members.
The Credit Union Foundation Limited is a registered charity and a
company limited by guarantee
A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share ca ...
with a board of trustees consisting of the directors of ABCUL and independent trustees. As a registered charity, the Foundation's rules allow it to carry out a different but complementary role to that of ABCUL.
About the Foundation
The Credit Union Foundation (retrieved 11 February 2015)
See also
* Credit unions in the United Kingdom
*British co-operative movement
The United Kingdom is home to a widespread and diverse co-operative movement, with over 7,000 registered co-operatives owned by 17 million individual members and which contribute £34bn a year to the British economy. Modern co-operation started w ...
References
External links
Association of British Credit UnionsIrish League of Credit UnionsUlster Federation of Credit Unions
{{Credit Unions in the United Kingdom
Banks established in 1967
Cooperative federations
Credit union leagues
Credit unions of the United Kingdom
Companies based in Manchester
Organizations established in 1967
1967 establishments in England