Credit Unions want ‘central liquidity fund’

CREDIT Unions want the Government to set up and guarantee “a central liquidity fund” to help fund credit unions who run short of cash.

And yesterday the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) welcomed a move by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to carry out a review of “new regulations governing the reserve ratio required by credit unions” proposed by the registrar of credit unions, Brendan Logue, and due to come into effect in September.

ILCU chief Kieron Brennan said: “The Irish League of Credit Unions welcomes the decision by the minister to seek a review of the introduction of the proposed regulation pending a review of the risk profile of credit unions. If the registrar’s proposal were to be introduced, in its current form, it would have lead to a position where hundreds of credit unions around the country would have been unable to pay dividends to members. It would have inflicted huge reputational damage on credit unions and damaged people’s confidence in the movement as a whole.”