Cornwall Housing and Southwest housing associations partner with Westcountry Savings & Loans credit union

New collaboration will focus on helping customers achieve financial stability.

As we manage Cornwall Council homes, at Cornwall Housing we are committed to providing more than just bricks and mortar. We are proud to be in partnership with Westcountry Savings & Loans (WS&L), the South West’s credit union, as part of our ongoing commitment to our residents' financial wellbeing.

As part of this collaboration, we have teamed up with eight housing associations from across the region to establish the Credit Union Sustainability Partnership (CUSP), an initiative that enables us to provide customers with affordable and ethical savings and loans products.

Importantly, the partnership offers alternative borrowing options to people who may otherwise turn to high interest lenders and loan sharks, helping, in turn to keep money in households and local communities.

The partnership also helps to support and sustain WS&L, ensuring the region’s households continues to have access to the financial services and products of a local credit union. This is vital, given that WS&L is a not-for-profit organisation, meaning any surplus it makes is given back to its members in the form of a dividend.

Hayley Austin, Executive Director of Housing Operations at Cornwall Housing, says: “We are delighted to have partnered with Westcountry Savings & Loan Credit Union and the various housing associations across the Southwest. This collaboration will allow us to address the financial wellbeing of not only Cornwall Housing residents, but also those living across the region. This year, we will be meeting regularly with our new partners to explore how we can collaborate on digital savings campaigns, as well as engaging with our tenants and WS&L in person. We hope that by joining forces we can combat challenges posed by high-interest lenders, whilst also empowering residents by giving them the means to become financially stable. This partnership demonstrates our overarching commitment to providing comprehensive support to Cornwall Housing residents."

Steve Zebedee, WS&L’s Deputy CEO, says, “Our growing membership numbers tell us that the services Westcountry Savins & Loans provides are as in-demand today across the region as ever. By partnering with housing providers across the South-West, we are extending our reach further into local communities and ensuring that households who really stand to benefit from our loans and savings products know there are alternatives to high-interest lenders. This has long been one of our key aims and is something I look forward to building on with our CUSP partners in the coming years.”

WS&L are authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority, visit their website for more information.