The Manchester Co-operative Credit Union (1977) Limited had its genesis in 1947 as a study group under the leadership of the late principal of the then Holmwood Practical Training Centre (now Holmwood Technical High School), Mr. F. R. Ricketts and his assistant the late Mr. Sydney Carter. The study group moved from house to house, sharing the vision and philosophy of the Credit Union and the prospects for the future. The response was positive and so the movement grew at a very rapid pace, with the first members coming mainly from the staff of Holmwood and members of the immediate community. Also prominent in the study group, was the late Fr. John P. Sullivan, himself a pioneer of the Credit Union Movement in Jamaica. The group was named the Middlesex Co-operative Credit Union and was registered under the Provident Society Act in 1948. This was before the advent of the Registrar of Co-operative Societies Act, which came about in 1950 and eventually took over Middlesex in 1951. During the developments, there was no paid staff and all the work was done by volunteers. The office was established upstairs the Emergency Drug Store owned then by the late Elsie Bailey, but later moved to share office space with the Christiana Peoples Co-operative Bank (the first such bank in Jamaica).

The Marigot Co-operative Credit Union Limited is a financial institution that was formed in the year 1954 out of a study group selected from persons in the community of Marigot with limited financial resources. The group was led by Mr. Belgrave Robinson assisted by a number of persons including Mr. Meshach Linton, Mr. Edney Sylvester, Mr. Slyes E James, Mr. Hommil Hamlet and Mr. Anthony Winston. The meeting place of that study group was at the Golden Arror Club in Marigot and their contribution for savings was 25¢ per week. January 5th 1955 was inauguration day for the Marigot Co-operative Credit Union. The aim of the Credit Union was to promote economic thrift among members and provide a source of credit that was more favorable than the banking sector, to people of the Community. The Credit Union at that time was run by a Board of Directors elected from among the same people. Mr. Meshach Linton was its first President and Mr. Syles E James the first Treasurer. Other members of the Board included Mr. Edney Sylvester, Dr. Basteria and Mr. Hommil Hamlet. At the start Mr. Hommil Hamlet collected the money from members and the money was kept at the home of a business man named Mr. Anthony Winston for safe keeping. Savings was collected at the home of the Treasurer until the first Credit Union office building was built in 1972. What started off from a very humble beginning with member’s savings as little as 25 ¢ is today a multi-million dollar institution with assets of over 47 million dollars and the institution has a membership of over three thousand.