VSUCC wins top performing medium cooperative award in Eastern Visayas

The Visayas State University Credit Cooperative (VSUCC) remains to be one of the strongest local lending and financial institutions in the region. This year, they bagged the highest award in the Medium Cooperatives Category in Eastern Visayas given by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

This recognition is annually given by the CDA in recognition of the primary cooperatives’ exemplary performance and invaluable contributions to the betterment of the lives of their members by pursuing community development initiatives and extending financial services that will also cover environmental stewardship and nation-building.

Dr. Supecio C. Bantugan, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of VSUCC, received this award on November 4, 2022, in a ceremony held at Milka Hotel in Tacloban City.

Based on the validation of the Cooperative Performance Audit Report, the VSUCC obtained a total rating of 82.6% which signifies the overall strength and financial stability of the organization in achieving its overall goals for the past year.

For more than 50 years of service, VSUCC not only provided affordable financial services and a variety of opportunities to its members but have also extended humanitarian efforts to the community, especially at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial cooperatives such as VSUCC offer sustainable financial mechanisms for local people excluded from the traditional banking system. Because they are run by and for people at a community level and they lend cautiously, credit cooperatives offer a safe approach to savings and loans.

Because of this, they have the potential to provide self-sustaining financial services to small borrowers especially if capital is adequate and the members' share capital and deposits are sufficiently protected.

Established in 1965, VSUCC started from a borrowed sub-capital of 36% per annum in 1990 and lent them to the borrowers at the same interest rates. They offered member-time depositors at 18% per annum where some members were convinced to transfer their money from their bank accounts and entrust it to VSUCC.

With the increasing member deposits, VSUCC was able to lower its lending rates over time.

From 1993, the VSUCC’s savings and time deposits amounted to 1.8 million pesos which eventually grew to 40 million in 2020.

Among the key services offered by VSUCC to its clients include fixed savings and time deposits, regular and emergency loans, special loan windows with and without additional collateral, enhanced loans to mitigate the crisis, and special loans for the livelihood project for the poor.

Aside from that, all VSUCC members enjoy patronage refunds, dividends, productivity incentive bonuses, freebies, and prizes during annual raffle draws.

New programs and projects are also now available to its members including financing for subdivision projects, student financial assistantship, microfinancing for the poor and financial assistance extended to distressed members, provision of the mortuary fund, and other insurance programs.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, they provided community cash assistance to VSU and some communities of Baybay specifically in Barangay Marcos, Pangasugan, and Guadalupe.

Dr. Nerelito P. Pascual, VSUCC’s longest serving Manager and concurrent Chairperson of its Management Committee shared his aspirations for the cooperative to continuously grow in the future.

“It’s good if we can maintain our place at the regional level but if we can go bigger and become one of the country’s best in the future, that would be very ideal for VSUCC. That's why we are currently linking and expanding our base not only at the national level but also to our neighbors here in the ASEAN region." Dr. Pascual explained.

The VSUCC Manager also expressed his thanks to the active members of the Board of Directors including the hundreds of VSU employees who entrusted their savings to the cooperative. With this recognition, the management of VSUCC also hopes that they can expand their membership base in the coming years to include new young recruits from the faculty and staff of the university.

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