By Lisa Hochgraf
In August, La Inmaculada Credit Union Ltd., Orange Walk Town, became the first credit union in Belize to join CUES and CUES' Center for Credit Union Board Excellence. The memberships are seen as a definitive next step toward the CU’s continued growth and success in serving the financial needs of its rural and urban members.
“The need to ensure that everyone is at the same level and talking the same talk and walking the same walk is what prompted me even more to surf your website,” writes CUES member Yolanda Gomez, general manager of the $21.5 million (U.S.) CU. “In addition, having attended the recent CCCU/CUES convention in Panama proved to be even more fruitful because of the standards and relevance of the presentations as showcased by CUES at the convention. We are convinced that we will surely improve our operations and abide by international standards through accessing the expertise and exposure of your society.”
Heavily regulated by the Central Bank of Belize, La Inmaculada CU is a people-oriented institution with a primary focus on helping people to help themselves financially—that is, improving their standard of living by making loans for provident and productive purposes. While the CU’s office is very urban, its membership is approximately 60 percent rural.
In keeping with this, the CU’s $18.4 million (U.S.) loan portfolio includes commercial, residential and consumer loans.
In this photo, the CU's micro finance field officer visits the unbanked to gather and verify information relevant to extending credit to a micro enterprise. "We do this on a daily basis," Gomez says.
“Currently we are making a conscious effort to encourage more productive loans to create employment and generate income by granting loans to small entrepreneurs,” Gomez writes. “We are convinced that this will improve our economy by reducing poverty and encouraging diversified portfolios rather than being dependent on only one major industry.
“We are focusing on the underserved sector of the community who are excluded from the formal sector—those who are economically active through their informal, unstructured small business and are challenged by the accessibility of credit, even from our credit union because they are not members and do not have savings or collateral,” she continues.
“We serve this sector of our community and go beyond just offering credit; we work hand in hand with these persons by offering technical assistance so that they may grow their business. … for instance, the majority of these persons have had no formal education. They have full knowledge of their small business, but do not have any recording of their sales and expenses; they just buy and sell yet have been surviving and yielding small profits. We assist them with basic accounting so they can have adequate records of their sale and expenses and reinvestment; we also assist them in marketing their products, improving in their labeling and packaging.
The CU participates in the Belize Rural Finance Programme, which reinforces the credit union’s core value of helping underserved people to help themselves.
“We are creating a culture of savings constantly no matter how little it may be,” Gomez says. “We are in the field working with the unbanked, pulling them into the formal sector; we are taking our services to them within their rural communities. Our membership is growing an average of 200 new members monthly as a result of our many initiatives.”
In addition to the various types of savings and loan products, the CU also offers ATM service (since 2009) and point-of-sale payments through a network with other major credit unions and a commercial bank. It processes salary, offers life savings and loan protection benefits, and operates a funeral grant benefit at low contributions from the members.
Since its inception in 1949, La Inmaculada CU has faced many survival challenges. In April of 1991, Gomez was appointed manager. Within a year, members’ confidence increased, shares started growing, the loan portfolio started performing and surplus started being generated. For the first time ever, the CU declared an annual dividend of 3 percent and thereafter has been on an upward trend.
“Needless to mention, the educational process to convince and increase the public’s confidence was no easy task, but with hard work, dedication and commitment, we managed to bring LICU to the point of where we are,” Gomez notes. “We were strapped for liquidity, and delinquency had skyrocketed out the roof. We were operating manually and the time spent on manual operations could very well be used for strategizing new initiatives.
“After 1991, the board also became dynamic. With some new directors, new perspectives and ideas—and receptiveness to innovation—were introduced. The increase in activities resulted in an increased demand for our services and the employee team grew from three to 35. Even though the CU had been in existence for 42 years, it was only about $500,000 (U.S.) in assets. Today the CU’s monthly cash flow exceeds $3 million, and an average of 40 loans are processed daily.
“Having addressed most of our operational challenges, we continuously seek ways and means of improving to take our services to an even higher standard,” Gomez says, explaining her CU’s decision to join CUES and the Center for Credit Union Board Excellence. “It is even more credible to our volunteers/directors when the source is coming from a solid organization such as yours. Information is an asset at all levels, but more so at the management level, as managers and directors make many vital decisions that will determine the future of the institution.”
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
Learn more about the 2014 CCCU and CUES International Convention, slated for June 21-24 in Nassau, Bahamas.
