About Us

Loans, savings and current accounts. If you live or work in our area, we’ve got you covered.

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About us

Good to know

We are not-for-profit. Our operating surplus goes back into our services or is paid as dividends to our members.

We offer products that often aren’t available on the high street.

We try to understand your individual needs and will always consider helping those the banks refuse to help.

We help you control your finances and build savings as you repay your loan.

We are local - our staff live locally and we support local community causes.

We are friendly, approachable and interested in you, our customer.

Our vision

To ensure that all local communities throughout Boom's common bond area, that is, people who live or work in West Sussex, Surrey, Kingston, north Hampshire and Berkshire, benefit from the presence of a local, well-known and trusted financial cooperative that helps its members to understand and control their finances and thus offer them the opportunity to enjoy the peace of mind that personal savings and affordable credit can provide.

Our Task

To build a different kind of bank, a mutual cooperative that has the interest of its members at the heart of all its services and offers them financial security, efficiency, instant account access, friendly support, affordable credit, encouragement to save and policies that are simple, clear and fair for all.

About us

Our purpose

Boom Community Bank is a not-for-profit organisation focused on the needs of our community. We are a local cooperative owned and controlled by our customers, our members. We exist to provide ethical financial services not available elsewhere.

Boom Community Bank is part of Britain’s 300-strong nationwide network of Credit Unions. We work with our community partners to address local community financial needs, spanning our common bond area, which stretches from the M4 in Berkshire to the South Coast (see below). If you live or work in our common bond, become part of our community and join us today.

 

About us

Our common bond

Boom Community Bank exclusively serves the communities within our common bond. Everyone living or working in the listed areas may access our services.

  • Berkshire
  • South Oxfordshire District
  • Kingston upon Thames
  • Surrey
  • West Sussex
  • East Hampshire (Basingstoke and Deane, Hart, and Rushmoor Districts)
  • South Bucks and Wycombe Districts

Employees of Legal & General Group and tenants and employees of Paragon Asra Housing (PA Housing) may also join.

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Common Bond
About us

Board of Directors

Meet our Directors who work hard to ensure Boom Community Bank is run fairly, ethically and will be around to serve you long into the future.  Our Directors don’t draw a salary, they’re with us for love of their community and belief on what we do.

David Wright OBE

David Wright OBE

Chairman

David is a retired British diplomat with 50 years of experience in foreign relations and public service. David was the founding Chair of SurreySave and negotiated its merger with West Sussex in 2016 to create Boom. During 16 years as a Guildford Borough Councillor, he used his local links to help establish SurreySave. He has chaired the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Board and served on the Boards of Surrey Hills Enterprises, Surrey Probation, Guildford and Waverley PCT, Guildford CAB and Oakleaf Enterprises, the mental health charity.

Mark Jasper

Mark Jasper

Chief Executive Officer & Treasurer

Mark has almost thirty years’ experience as a local government finance professional with specific experience in the preparation and coordination of budgets in the social housing sector, a role he combined with the management of an accounts receivable team. He joined the board of West Sussex and Surrey Credit Union in 2018 as Treasurer, with responsibility for the oversight of financial governance arrangements, investment decisions and performance. In 2021 he became Chief Executive Officer whilst retaining the role of Treasurer. He is committed to raising awareness of the vital role that Boom plays in helping those in its community who need financial support and delivering the opportunities and benefits that financial inclusion brings. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family and volunteering as a financial consultant for Aldershot Town FC who play in the Vanarama National League.

Richenda Kullar

Richenda Kullar

Company Secretary

Richenda studied law at King’s College, London and subsequently qualified as a barrister; she is a member of Gray’s Inn. Richenda worked at the Bank of England before lecturing in law and economics at a college. She then joined the Legal Department of Alliance &Leicester and subsequently worked at a number of companies in the financial sector, including Abbey National, GE Money, MBNA and NewDay. Her roles included being Head of Legal with responsibility for a team of lawyers. Now retired, Richenda is a volunteer with, and on the Board of, Turning Tides; she enjoys theatre, reading, hiking, gardening and being with her children and grandchildren.

Roger Lovering

Roger Lovering

Roger has spent over 30 years in financial services and has extensive experience in lending to individuals and SMEs. He understands the challenges of growing a business. Roger is a Trustee of Frederick’s Foundation, a charity that provides funding for social enterprises, charities, and B-corporations.

Matt Isted

Matt Isted

Matt has 20 years of experience in investment banking with specific expertise in equities, collateral, risk and change management. His roles range from global, front-to-back regulatory programmes to overseeing the control environment for a UK sales and trading business. Matt brings strong analytical skills combined with extensive financial and non-financial risk experience.

Darrell Greenwood

Darrell Greenwood

Darrell has extensive experience in senior commercial roles in the private sector, working as Commercial Director or General Manager for several consumer goods businesses with household name brands. He is a specialist in direct-to-consumer marketing, online marketing and general sales and commercial activities. Darrell has a degree in Economics and a diploma qualification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Kevin Hennings

Kevin Hennings

Kev joined the Prison Service in 1997 and was attached to the Reducing Re-Offending Unit and Psychology Teams across Kent Surrey and Sussex. Early 2000’s Kev became the Area Treatment Manager for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Prisons. Having spent 16 years in the Criminal Justice setting he Joined Change Grow Live (CGL) managing community substance misuse teams across West Sussex.
Before becoming Director of Operations for the Maslow Foundation Kev was Services Manager for Emerging Futures, developing community support services and criminal justice housing options across the South East. Kev works in partnership with various local voluntary organisations and a wide range of statutory service providers that include Mental health Provision, NHS, Probation Services, Police and Local Authorities.
Kev was appointed CEO of Urban Nest Housing Solutions in 2023 and continues his work with several Reducing Re-Offending Boards whilst developing and advising on new services to support those most vulnerable in our communities.

Chris Carlisle

Chris Carlisle

Chris is a retired Chartered Surveyor with more than forty years` experience in residential and commercial property. He has a high reputation in the Social Housing sector where he worked closely with Local Authorities and the main Banks and is familiar with lending procedures, legal technicalities, loan documentation and risk/performance monitoring required for multi-million-pound loans for investment in social housing for rent. He has experience over the past 20 years as both a Chairman and Board Member of housing associations in the South East which has given him an in-depth understanding of the issues affecting both the vulnerable and financially excluded in our society. Chris is an Executive Director of Boom Credit Union involved in overseeing Compliance issues and as Money Laundering Reporting Officer.

Heather Ward

Heather Ward

Heather Ward was one of the co-founders of SurreySave Credit Union. She was a teacher in North London, moved to Surrey in the 60s with her husband and raised a family of four children. During her 20 years as a local Councillor in Mole Valley District Council, she learnt much about the needs of local families and, in particular, about financial exclusion and the effects of debt. She was a founder of several local charities including the Mary Frances Trust for people with mental health needs, of which she continues to be a Trustee and she was also a board member of a local housing association. She is a School Governor and is blessed with ten grandchildren.

Supervisory Committee

The Supervisory Committee operates independently from the Board of Directors, dedicated to representing the interests of members and all stakeholders. Their primary goal is to ensure that the credit union is run and managed in the best interest of its members. This includes safeguarding members' assets, maintaining financial stability, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

Mike Paddock

Mike Paddock

Michael Paddock was one of the co-founders of SurreySave Credit Union and was the Treasurer from 2012-16. He is a retired finance professional with extensive experience in local government. He is the past Chairman of Finance and Resources at the English Rural Housing Association. He has held memberships with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA).

Michael Watson

Michael Watson

Michael is a retired corporate banker and has extensive experience of all aspects of lending. He is a member of the Institute of Financial Services and held several senior roles, including Controller of Advances at Midland Bank, Assistant Director at Hill Samuel Bank and General Manager at Kellock. Michael is a past Treasurer of Surrey Young Enterprise and is currently one of their volunteer Business Advisers.

Denise Williams

Denise Williams

Denise joined the Supervisory Committee in 2018, having been a Director and Secretary of SurreySave Credit Union from 2011 to 2016. She is a Chartered Secretary with 35 years of experience in statutory and regulatory compliance and corporate governance across various industries, including financial services. She is a fellow of The Chartered Governance Institute.

John Ingman

John Ingman

John joined the Supervisory Committee in March 2013. Now retired after more than 40 years in the financial services industry, he spent the first 27 years in a variety of roles in the Barclays Bank group, including internal audit both in the UK and overseas. He then became an independent consultant and undertook a variety of audit assignments, latterly focussing on US corporate governance legislation. John is also actively engaged with the National Trust in a variety of volunteering roles.

Timeline

Our history

2008

West Sussex Credit Union was founded. Membership:1,000

2011

East Grinstead Credit Union joins. Membership: 2,500

2012

Crawley Credit Union joins. Membership: 4,000

2016

SurreySave Credit Union joins. Boom Credit Union was registered as a trading name. Membership: 8,000

2022

Berkshire Credit Union joins. Boom Community Bank was registered as a new trading name. Membership: 12,000

2023

£28.8 Million disbursed in loans to-date. Membership: 12,500