Co-operative credit union considers pandemic leave, loan restructuring

The Association of the Co-operative Credit Union Presidents of TT has issued a statement on possibly implementing pandemic leave for its employees.

In the statement issued on Tuesday, the president of the association Fitzroy Ottley said the credit union was ready to play its role in the national spread of the coronavirus.

He said, "As employers, we will consider how best to support the concept of pandemic leave."

He also said, as lenders, the credit union would support the cash flows and "life blood" of the many small and micro-enterprises it had financed and continued to support.

The statement comes after the Prime Minister asked banks and landlords for deferrals on debts on Monday at a post-cabinet media briefing and the Diplomatic Centre in St Anns.

Ottley said, "Co-operative credit union movement was forged out of adversity," and this pandemic is "just the latest of adversities that has confronted the vulnerable members of the nation’s society." He said some within the credit union might benefit from loan restructuring, interest rate rebates or repayment waivers.

"We will find innovative ways to keep our entrepreneurs afloat and still maintain the safety and soundness of our members’ funds."

He added that similar considerations would be given to borrowing members who might find themselves in financial difficulties as a result of the virus.