Pennine Community Credit Union becomes Northern Community Bank as presence spreads across the North

A long-standing East Lancashire credit union has changed its name to Northern Community Bank, reflecting its growing presence across the North of England.

Founded more than 40 years ago in Pendle, Pennine Community Credit Union (PCCU) began life as a small savings club.

Over the decades, it has grown into a trusted financial co-operative with tens of thousands of account holders – not just in the Pennine region, but increasingly in Cumbria, Preston, Lancaster and beyond.

The decision to change the name comes as more than a third of account holders now live outside the community bank’s original heartland.

It has a branch in Burnley and Colne.

Kathryn Fogg, chief executive said: "We are excited to introduce Northern Community Bank.

"After we expanded our services across Lancashire and into Cumbria we understood we needed to be more inclusive to all the communities we serve.

"We look forward to welcoming more account holders from across the North with the same friendly service we have provided since 1982.”

The rebrand also sees the organisation move away from the term ‘credit union’, which some people still associate with barriers or bureaucracy. The new name is designed to be simpler and more inclusive.

Despite the new look, the organisation insists that its founding values remain unchanged.

Gerald Spain, president, said: "We’ve been on an amazing growth journey to serve 17,000 people across the North.

"To be trusted to look after £21million in assets on behalf of the community is brilliant. Last year we welcomed 1,800 new account holders, with 97 per cent telling us they were happy with the service – the Northern Community Bank chapter of our story will continue to put people at the heart of everything we do and help even more people.”

Northern Community Bank provides savings accounts, personal loans, and budgeting support — all free from hidden fees or gimmicks. As a not-for-profit organisation, it avoids one-size-fits-all approaches, offering personalised solutions that remove unnecessary obstacles.

Owned and governed by its account holders as a co-operative, the community bank prioritises people in every decision, ethically reinvesting profits back into the community and sharing them annually as rewards to account holders.

At the launch of the new brand, Tia Warbrick, chief operating officer, outlined the direction the Northern Community Bank planned to travel in 2025.

As figures released in May showed that there is £280 billion sitting in UK accounts earning no interest, the community bank will concentrate on supporting the community to grow their savings

“We will continue to improve the services for the community, whilst aiming to repeat the £1.1m share of profits we returned to account holders in 2025.

"We have released a competitive 4.5 per cent one year fixed term account and new interest bearing savings account to encourage regular saving, concentrated effort into young savers, whilst continuing to improve the ‘Money Matters’ education suite and made it easier to access affordable lending. Our purpose is to make managing money easier for everyone”.

For further information on our products and services see www.northerncommunitybank.co.uk