Credit Union Annual Report 2021 V2 - Flipbook - Page 8
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Credit Union ANNUAL REPORT 2021
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
REPORT
During the past year, despite the unrelenting challenges of
the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cayman Islands has shined as
a beacon of resilience as our people and economy quickly
adapted to the dynamic situation.
Yes, there has been some difficulty, particularly for those
persons who earn a living from our once vibrant tourism
sector.
The Economics and Statistics Office has estimated that in
2020, the Cayman Islands economy, measured by Gross
Domestic Product (GDP), contracted by some 6.7% in
2020, compared to growth of 3.8% in 2019. Unemployment
increased to 5.2% with Caymanian unemployment being
8.1%.
This type of economic shock was felt across the world, with
advanced economies experiencing contraction and high
rates of unemployment. Closer to home, for some of our
Caribbean neighbors the economic disruption was severe.
The International Monetary Fund estimated that many
economies in the region contracted by more than 10%.
However, despite this disruption, the Cayman Islands has
displayed remarkable resilience and our Credit Union has
continued to grow and prosper.
For its Annual Conference in June 2021, The Caribbean
Confederation of Credit Unions adopted the theme,
“Resilience - Building Resilience through Self-Reliance”.
This theme aptly applies to our Credit Union as we have
faced many challenging times since our incorporation in
1976, and we continue to be resilient through self-reliance.
Over the years, whether it was managing membership
growth, low liquidity, high delinquency, high interest rates,
predatory competition, or the aftermath of natural disasters,
our Credit Union has demonstrated its resilience through
self-reliance by:
• focusing on members helping members:
─• building a strong membership base;
• practicing the core Co-operative principles of the Credit
Union movement;
• helping members to achieve their financial goals by
Michael Nixon Chairman
encouraging members to save with and borrow from our
Credit Union;
• training
and
developing
competent,
employees to serve our members;
experienced