Country’s largest credit union reports €7.3m profit as reserves hit record high

The country’s largest credit union — St Raphael’s Garda Credit Union — has reported a net profit of €7.3 million for its latest financial year, with reserves rising to record levels.

The surplus increase — for the 12 months to the end of September — contributed to a 7% rise in the organisation’s reserve, which now stands at a record high of €51.6m.

The Dublin-based body — which looks after 32,000 members, mainly from Garda families — has reported a surplus for every year of the economic downturn and continues to have a very strong balance sheet and a growing membership base.