Sir, – Further to your editorial "Credit unions – a movement under strain" (November 8th), the appointment of provisional liquidators to Rush Credit Union was a sad day for everyone associated with the credit union and indeed for the credit union movement as a whole.
It is, of course, especially so for the members of Rush Credit Union, many of whom have relied on the credit union to access critical financial services at a local level.
The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) is conscious that there is a demand for the services of a credit union in the local area and will continue ongoing efforts to examine what arrangements can be put in place to provide credit union services for the former members of Rush Credit Union.
It is important to put the credit union closure into context. Any suggestion that the situation in Rush is representative of the wider movement is well wide of the mark.
This is an extremely rare occurrence.
Overall, the movement is strong and extremely well-capitalised. The total capital held by the movement is some €2.2 billion. Loan arrears in credit unions are at a nine-year low and have fallen for 18 quarters in a row. Credit union loan provisions exceed loan arrears by some €212 million and this buffer is in addition to the capital reserves held.
There is no dispute that credit unions, like other institutions, should have robust regulatory structures in place; these only benefit the members and it is our members that matter most.
In recent times, risk, compliance and internal auditing functions have supplement the pre-existing systems that credit unions had in place.
The ILCU has long championed a tiered regulatory structure.
Those credit unions that have more complex business models would be subject to a higher level of regulation than those that operate a more basic savings and loan model.
Credit union board of directors are volunteers and subject to a detailed fitness and probity regime which is now in place. Since the beginning of 2015, 3,000 hours of classroom learning and nearly 5,000 hours of e-learning have been delivered to credit union personnel.
Credit unions are unique because they are not-for-profit, democratically controlled, member-owned co-operatives. They are changing to meet members’ needs and continue to succeed and be popular because they have stayed true to their values and ethos. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN McCRORY,
President of the Irish
League of Credit Unions,
Lower Mount Street,
Dublin 2.