Meet the Board
Thamesbank’s governance and direction is made by its voluntary board members. The board meets on a regular basis and discusses a range of regulatory issues.
This edition introduces one of our new board members.
Testimonial from newly appointed Director and member of Thamesbank since 2018: Sabrina Nandkishore
I have nine years of experience in Retail Banking and have been working in the Oil and Gas industry for 17 years both in The Netherlands and London. Roles include: Customer Service Advisor, Customer Manager, Business Administrator, Travel Coordinator, Personal Assistant. My current role as an Executive Assistant working in Waterloo, London.
Why did you want to become a Director of Thamesbank?
After being a member of Thamesbank for more than two years. I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to assist my community by promoting ethical and affordable finance.
How did you become a member of the Thamesbank Credit union?
After purchasing a home at the age of 21 years old, and then married at the age of 25 years old. My new partner lived in the Netherlands, and I decided to move there because it felt like the best place to bring up my children. I had two daughters when I experienced domestic violence and had to repatriate back to the UK to be closer to my family. Following my separation and battling with being a working single mum. I had tremendous difficulties dealing with my finances being alone with two kids. I had slowly started to get into debt due to living expenses and childcare. I felt too embarrassed to discuss this with my family. After watching a money programme on T.V discussing affordable borrowing. I found out about Credit Union being more affordable than my credit cards. After setting up my account I applied for a child benefit loan, and each month been very pleasantly surprised on actually started to save. Thamesbank Credit Union would always pay some of my loan and deposit the rest of my child benefit into a saving account. Until then I never had an opportunity to save any money and began to pay off my loans and have some money for emergencies. I have been extremely lucky in the pandemic to be able to still have a job, and actually, save money by not commuting each day into central London.
What have you learnt from your financial difficulties?
Never be so confident that nothing will ever happen to your financial situation. I had a 25-year financial plan at the age of 21 years old. Unfortunately, in life things can go horribly wrong, and every certainty might become an uncertainty. I will never take my finances for granted and always think of backup plans for my finances. Talking with my family and new partner about my financial difficulties has helped me, especially with my mental well-being.
With thanks to Sabrina Nandkishore, Board Member Thamesbank Credit Union
Send in your questions to the board: info@thamesbank.org