TWO NEW loan products introduced by the City of Kingston Co-operative Credit Union (COK) in February 2004, are proving quite popular among the Credit Union's over 171,000 members.
Only six weeks after the launch of the 25:1 loan and the motorcar loan products, COK has disbursed approximately $160 million
The 25:1 loan allows COK members to borrow 25 times their shares for any purpose except purchase of motorcars.
The motorcar loan carries an interest rate of as low as 20 per cent on the reducing balance and is available for cars up to eight years old.
Speaking on Friday, March 26 at a COK media appreciation party at the Jamaica Pegasus, Kingston, COK marketing & PR manager, Dennis Hickey, described response to the loan products as 'overwhelming'.
NEW PARTNERSHIPS
Mr. Hickey also announced a new alliance and partnership with two remittance companies, one in the UK and one in the USA which he said will help widen the credit union's revenue base.
Noting that COK recently had its bond extended outside the boundaries of Kingston and St. Andrew, Mr. Hickey said that COK can now service relatives of members wherever they live in Jamaica. This he said, "will give COK the ability to leverage its geographic presence over time to create a much larger Credit Union".
Already, he said, the expansion has seen increased sales of the COK Pension Plan "the only one of its kind in Jamaica that caters to self employed and contracted workers".
COK, he said, is also partners with the Early Childhood Savers Association (Basic School Teachers) as their pension plan providers.
COK, Jamaica and the Caribbean's largest Credit Union, has deposits and shares of J$2.6 billion, loans of approximately J$1.4 billion and total assets of J$3 billion.
