Invest in community chest - Opik

Mr Opik claims the credit union is an ethical bank

Montgomeryshire's MP has called on the people of the area to invest in a local credit union after himself opening an account this week.

But Lembit Opik has no immediate plans to apply for a loan to help pay for a wedding for himself and TV weathergirl girlfriend Sian Lloyd.

The leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has joined the credit union in a move to highlight the problems of loan sharks in the area.

The union is run by 40 volunteers and has branches at Newtown, Welshpool and Llanidloes.

I have no plans to get married at the moment so I will not be asking the credit union for a loan for that Lembit Opik, MP

A new branch is set to open at Machynlleth later this year.

"By investing with the credit union people are choosing to invest in the locality which is why I decided to open an account," said Mr Opik.

Thousand members

"The common bond between the owners of the financial co-operative is they live and work in Montgomeryshire and any surplus made at the end of the year is given back to members in the form of a dividend - keeping things local."

The credit union was set up in the mid 1990s and now has more than 1,000 members throughout the shire.

"The credit union is run predominantly by volunteers and is non-profit making, something my staff in London find hard to believe can be true of a bank," added Mr Opik.

"I encourage people to invest with the credit union because it allows people to access low-cost credit under flexible conditions as opposed to dealing with commercial lending companies and loan sharks"

Wedding bells are not imminent for the couple

The credit union provides first time loans of up to £5,000 which can be used to buy goods, provide holidays or provide a pre-Christmas cash boost.

When asked if he would soon be applying for a loan to pay for a wedding to Ms Lloyd, Mr Opik, said: "I have no plans to get married at the moment so I will not be asking the credit union for a loan for that."

The credit union's future plan are to target deprived areas in the shire which have been designated as Communities First zones.

It already has a branch at Welshpool's Oldford Estate and plans to open a branch in Machynlleth by late 2003.

"These are areas of high unemployment and low wages and we want people to use a legitimate company like ourselves rather than go to loan sharks, said development worker, Denise Toop.

Members of the credit union also recently travelled to Mitchelstown in Ireland where credit union membership in that town has increased to 16,000 over 25 years.

"We are twinned with the Mitchelstown union and we went over to see the best way for us to try and expand and get more members," said Ms Toop.