History

As democratic financial institutions owned by their members, credit unions can trace their roots back to Germany to the late 1840s, where Hermann Schultz-Delitzsch organized a cooperative mill, bakery and other cooperative credit endeavours (1848), and Frederich Wilhelm Raiffeisen organized a similar cooperative for farmers (1864). A key player instrumental in fighting loan sharks with credit unionism in the USA was Edward Filene (1921). After spreading through continental Europe and America in the late 19th century, the first Credit Union in Trinidad and Tobago was founded in 1945.

The story of the local Credit Union movement began when Malcolm Milne, a San Fernando solicitor and member of the Catholic Laity, accidentally stumbled on the concept while browsing through a copy of the Catholic Digest. He immediately saw these institutions as a means for economic emancipation of the masses because Credit Unions were open to all, regardless of colour, creed or class.