Majority owned by 27 trade unionsand having more than 80% of TUCaffiliate unions with a bankingrelationship with us, Unity Trust Bankis at the heart of the social economysector. Putting social change, socialbenefit and community involvement atthe core of our business, we’resupporting trade unions as they striveto build a fairer, greener, more stableglobal economy.

With an on-going dialogue withgovernment and good links with seniortrade union officials, Unity is able topromote the needs and views of themovement straight to key influencersand politicians.

In this edition of Trade Union spotlight,we highlight some examples of howUnity is working with unions to helpfinance development projects, take careof their day-to-day banking, andsupport their members locally acrossthe UK.

Highlighted organisations in this issue:

Trade Union spotlight

A bank of reason ina world of problems

Dave Prentis, President of Unity TrustBank and General Secretary of Unison,brings his formidable knowledge andskills to the Board of Unity Trust wherehe plays a key role in formulating Unity’sbusiness strategy.

The passion, energy and enthusiasmDave dedicates to the representation of his members is equalled by hiscommitment and support for Unity.

Dave Prentis plays key role in the bank

“Unity’s strength lies in its sociallyresponsible ideals, the loyalty of itsshareholders and customers and theenthusiastic commitment of its staff.This is a potent, winning combination,which will ensure that Unity continuesto be the bank of choice for the tradeunion and social economy sectors.”

Dave Prentis

of TUC affiliate unions have a

banking relationship with us

82

trade unions own the

majority of the bank

27

%

of the TUCmembership isrepresented by

TUC affiliated unions

93%

For UNISON, banking with Unity Trustmeans enjoying a service that’s intune with the trade union ethos. “WithUnity, we know we’re getting a bankthat thinks beyond the bottom line,”says finance director Steve Tasker.“Trade union ownership of the bankensures a stable, reliable home for ourmoney and a great relationship. Tradeunions set up Unity Trust. They ownthe bank. And they believe in it.”

UNISON is one of Unity’s originalshareholders, but also enjoys thebenefits of Unity’s approach from acustomer’s perspective. “From themanaging director to the customerservices team, the trade unionphilosophy is embedded throughout thebank,” says Steve. “No matter who wespeak to, they understand our needsand go out of their way to help. Unity’spersonal touch makes life easy for us.”

Kevin Moran, Unity’s developmentmanager responsible for the UNISONrelationship says “My relationship withthe union predates the UNISON mergerin 1993, so I have a soundunderstanding and knowledge of theUnion’s needs and requirements. It’s apleasure working with the variouspeople on a day-to-day basis.” Adding,“I view the relationship as very much atwo way dialogue. We share anexcellent relationship.”

“It’s a hands on bank,” says SteveTasker. Adding, “From sorting outcheques to arranging a loan for our newheadquarters, we’ve always enjoyedexcellent service. We know the peoplewe deal with. They help us and they’requick to sort things out should anythinggo wrong.”

When it comes to investing, Unity’ssocially responsible stance is key. “Weneed a return on our investment,”explains Steve. “But how and where we get that return is really important to us. With Unity, we know our moneywill be well used and their termscompete well with the high streetbanks. Crucially, they also offer a securehome for our money in the currenteconomic climate.”

Similarly, borrowing from Unity meansUNISON knows where the money hascome from. A joint funding arrangementwith Unity being the lead bankers willhelp fund the trade union’s newheadquarters on the Euston Road inLondon. Due for completion in 2010,the new building will stand on theformer site of the Elizabeth GarretAnderson Hospital. It will provideUNISON with a modern workingenvironment where teams can mix

easily and work together to foster abetter working environment.

“It is very interesting being part of sucha unique and bespoke development. Wewere involved at all levels from day one,including advising the union on thestructure of the financing package.” says Kevin Moran.

“When we looked for a loan tohelp fund our new headquarters,we spoke to other banks as wellas Unity,” says Steve. “But withUnity we know that not only arewe getting a good deal but alsothat the money is coming fromdepositors who share UNISON’svalues. I’d encourage anyonelooking for a trade union bankingservice to talk to Unity; it’s worth it.”

1

UNISON turned to Unity tofund new HQ

The site of the new UNISON head office

2

Sponsorship from Unity Trust helpedthe TUC Organis ing Academycelebrate its tenth birthday in style. Aswell as keynote speeches andworkshops, delegates attending theBuilding Stronger Unions conferenceat Congress House in London enjoyeda theatre performance and eveningevent with drinks and a birthday cake.

“We wanted the day to be as engagingas possible,” says Tom Mellish, TUCOrganising Policy Officer. “So we lookedfor suitable sponsors – organisations thatwere in tune with the trade union ethosand ethics. Unity fitted the bill perfectly.”

Unity’s sponsorship helped Tom and hiscolleagues provide conference materials,and the celebrations – representing the250 union organisers the academy hastrained over the last decade. Betweenthem, they’ve organised thousands ofnew union members, identified hundredsof new reps and established unions forthe first time in hundreds of workplaces.

Keynote speakers at the conferenceincluded Frances O’Grady, TUC DeputyGeneral Secretary; Christine Blower, NUTActing General Secretary; and TonyWoodley, UNITE Deputy GeneralSecretary. Together with organisers theylooked back on the success of the last 10years. Other speakers and workshopstackled issues such as organising in theprivate sector, organising vulnerableworkers and international trade unionism.

Delegates used electronic voting to givetheir feedback on issues raised – withtheir responses contributing to a finaldiscussion led by Paul Mason, author ofLive Working or Die Fighting.

During lunch, they were treated to a performance from theatre groupElectric Picnic, exploring the outdatedmisconceptions of trade unionism.

The piece followed a newly-trained andidealistic young union rep as shediscovered that it takes more thanenthusiasm to effect change.

Building Stronger Unions also lookedahead to how the union movement cancontinue to build on the success of theOrganising Academy.

The TUC has launched a neworganising and campaigning initiative - The Activist Academy for lay reps and stewards. This aims to train another 1,000 organisers by 2011 to further boost Britain’s army of union organisers.

“We want people to see unions as acentral part of society,” says Tom. “Toachieve this, we need to turn aroundmisconceptions about what unions are.Activist communities will be vital in achieving this - as will continuingto work with organisations like Unitythat understand the principles of theunion movement.”

In 2009, Unity is supporting theOrganising Academy to host an eventwith the Union Ideas Network – set up to share ideas between unions and academics – mark ing the twentieth anniversary of the TiananmenSquare protests.

Building Stronger Unions

Congress House, London, home to the TUC and Unity Trust’s London office

“Continuing to receive support fromorganisations like Unity Trust Bank– those that understand andembody the principles of the unionmovement – will be vital as wework to turn aroundmisconceptionsabout unions,” says Tom.

3

One of the founder members of UnityTrust Bank, the Transport SalariedStaffs’ Association (TSSA) hasbenefited from banking that puts thetrade union movement at its heart for25 years. “The fact that Unity is atrade union bank is vital to us,” saysSteve Whitehead, Head of CentralSer v ices a t the TSSA. “Theyunderstand our needs in a way that ahigh street bank simply couldn’t.”

Unity provides banking for the TSSAand its branches throughout the UK.Tailored to their needs, the serviceincludes everything you’d expect from ahigh street bank, including an efficientBACS service. “We’re moving to payingour suppliers via BACS and collectingsubscriptions through direct debit,”explains Steve. “About 60% of ourmembers pay by direct debit.”

Collecting money from around 17,000people this way leaves Steve and his

team free to focus on other tasks tosupport the union’s work.

TSSA represents 30,000 administrative,managerial, professional and technicalworkers on the railway, LondonUnderground, in the travel trade, portsand on the ferries. It is committed toexpanding its membership and iscurrently running a major campaign tounionise travel agents.

Like many unions, the TSSA has to runon tight margins to achieve its goals.Unity’s Internet Banking lets Stevemonitor the union’s accounts on a dailybasis. “For me, this alone justifiesinternet banking,” he says. “I wouldn’tbe able to do my job in the same waywithout it.”

Using internet banking to keep a closeeye on the union finances meant thatwhen the TSSA needed an overdraft tocover some building work, Steve wasable to cut the duration of the borrowingto just one month.

“We’re always able to talk through ourplans with Unity,” he explains.“Banking with Unity means we’re able to benefit from their experience ofworking with other unions andorganisations in the wider socialeconomy. The fact that Unity is part ofthe trade union movement is crucial.”

Unity’s help comes to TSSA first-handfrom development manager KevinMoran. “Kevin understands our needsand shares his experience of workingwith other unions. Together with i t s un ion backg round, Un i t y ’ s personal touch means it stands out fromthe crowd.”

The London Underground

Unity’s personal touch means it

stands out of the crowd - TSSA

InternetBankingOur Internet Banking platform isdesigned with you in mind.

Unlike many high street banks, wealso offer online banking with adual or triple signatory arrangement.

You can…

• Transfer money

• Order stationery

• Make bill payments

• Check balances and statements

• Set up and cancel standing orders

• View and cancel direct debits

• Download data into various file formats

• Stop cheques

• Manage and monitor your account

“The fact that Unity is part of thetrade union movement is crucial.”

4

The University and College Union(UCU) is the largest post-schooleducation trade union in the world.Unity Trust offers UCU a flexiblebanking service that supports thevalues of the trade union movement.

UCU’s general secretary, Sally Hunt,explains: “Unity is owned by, andunderpinned by, trade union values so they understand our needs. We expectUnity to offer us competitive banking - andso far we haven’t been disappointed.”

UCU was formed on 1 June 2006following the merger of the Associationof University Teachers (AUT) andNATFHE - the university and collegelecturers’ union. The new unionrepresents more than 120,000 peopleworking in education throughout the UK - academics, administrators,lec turers , t ra iners , ins t ruc tors ,

researchers, managers, computer staff,l ibrarians and postgraduates inuniversities, colleges, prisons, andtraining organisations.

“Unity offers flexible banking that suitsthe union’s structure,” explains Sally.“Local branches are able to pool theinterest on their deposits if they want to.Our finances work on a national,regional and local level and it’simportant that our bank maintains agood relationship with all parts of theorganisation. Unity does that.”

Merging two unions to form UCU meantthat the union needed a new Londonheadquarters. Unity Trust provided allthe banking facilities UCU needed for

such a large undertaking. Throughoutthe process, Laurie Bell, a Unitydevelopment manager was on hand tooffer help and advice. “Laurie is veryhelpful,” says Sally. “But we don’t feellimited to talking to him. With Unity,we get a range of people who cansupport us.”

Straightforward banking leaves theunion free to focus on its day-to-dayactivities - fighting for improved pay and conditions and highlighting theimportant roles its members play in thenational and global economy. “In arecession, our members, like everyoneelse, are concerned about financialsecurity,” says Sally. “We’re workinghard to look after their interests when it comes to pay, job security and other issues.”

With challenging economic timesahead, UCU will also be keeping an eyeon its own finances. “We watchcarefully to make sure we get the levelof service we expect from our bank,”says Sally.

“Unity is owned by, and underpinned by, trade union values so they understand our needs. We expect Unity Trust to offer us competitive banking - and so far wehaven’t been disappointed.”

“What we get from Unity is aresponsive service and an in-depthunderstanding of our needs. Whensomething does go wrong it’squickly sorted out - which is atestament to the high level ofcustomer service Unity provides.”

UCU attracted by responsive service

UTB259August 2009

A professional membership organisationfor GPs in the UK, the RCGP representsover 30,000 doctors in 30 branches -known as faculties - across the country.A system which saw each facultyorganising its own separate bankaccounts made it hard for the RCGP tokeep track of everything and meant thatlocal faculties didn’t always get the best deal.

Unity offers the RCGP a service that’stailored to their needs. Faculties gettheir own accounts but interest ispooled - earning them higher returnsand making the banking easier toadminister. “Unity offers us the best of

both worlds. Our faculties get thefreedom to look after their bankingwhile enjoying the benefits of bankingwith Unity Trust,” says Hilary.

Unity also helped to make transferringto a new bank easy. “The changeoverwent smoothly because the faculties areable to run their Unity account throughthe same local high street bank theyused before,” explains Hilary. “Unity’scontact centre has also been extremelygood - with someone on the phone tohelp when we needed them.”

Moving banks doesn’t have to be ahassle - as the RCGP discovered. “I haddealt with Unity in my previous role at atrade union, so I was confident theywould provide a good service,” saysHilary. “I haven’t been disappointed. Infact, we couldn’t have asked for more.”

“When we went to Unity, we were careful to look at how the bank was run.The fact that Unity does not rely on borrowing from other banks means weknow they offer a secure home for our money.”

Service that’s tailored to our needs

Kevin MoranDevelopment ManagerNine Brindleyplace Birmingham B1 2HBTel: 0121 616 4142Mob: 07711 412868email: kevin.moran@unity.co.uk

Andrew JessonHead of Trade Unions23-28 Great Russell StreetLondon WC1B 3UBTel: 020 7462 5602Mob: 07711 412866email: andy.jesson@unity.co.uk

Laurie Bell JPDevelopment Manager23-28 Great Russell StreetLondon WC1B 3UBTel: 020 7462 5603Mob: 07711 412869email: laurie.bell@unity.co.uk

Can we help you with your

banking or financing needs?

Contact the Trade Union

Team for a chat:

When the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) wanted a bank thatcould support its local faculties, the organisation turned to Unity Trust. “Welooked at using a high street bank but Unity’s service was better suited to abranch structure like ours,” says Hilary De Lyon, Chief Executive.

Unity Trust Bank plc, Nine Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HB. T: 0845 140 1000 F: 0845 113 0003 www.unity.co.ukRegistered in England and Wales no. 1713124. Registered office: Nine Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HB.

Hilary De Lyon