By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) and the Teachers and Salaried Workers Cooperative Credit Union have launched a partnership that will enable members to make use of a range of financial services, including mortgage and loans.

The $20m initiative includes mortgages for home and investment properties, mortgage refinancing, home renovations, debt consolidation, and personal education loans. The partnership is designed to benefit teachers, teacher aides, guidance counsellors, and librarians.

Belinda Wilson, president of the BUT, described the partnership as “historical” and stressed the union’s dedication to improving members’ lives.

“My heart is really full because from 2009 we’ve been trying to get our members into houses and all of you know that a house would be the single largest investment that an individual can make, and for us to have our teachers in their own homes, that goes well with our vision to ensure that we are able to assist our members, for our members to benefit, for their lives to be better,” Ms Wilson said yesterday during a press conference.

Byron Miller, general manager of the Teachers and Salaried Workers Cooperative Credit Union, encouraged BUT members to take advantage of the financial solutions offered and highlighted the goal of helping members achieve their objectives for home ownership, education, and financial stability.

“We know that there are financial institutions out there that are competing, offering similar financial solutions to us. We are providing mortgages, loans of every kind, credit cards, debit cards and the likes, so we make doing business far easier,” Mr Miller said yesterday.

“It is not as complex. It is not complicated like the banks. Our turnaround time, a level of responsiveness, connectivity with our members remains at a very high level. Fact, we are bragging of a member retention rate of 98 percent, other financial institutions cannot brag of that.

“So that tells you, our members are in this for the long haul, and we want to deliver these solutions to our members that they need without the hassle, without the interrogation and maintaining the level of respect for the members."