CREDIT union leaders have roundly welcomed the Government-appointed co-mmission’s sweeping recommendations, admitting that greater regulation is essential to their future.

CREDIT unions are taking a more aggressive approach in pursuing those who are not paying their loans.

CREDIT unions may need a financial injection of up to €1.5 billion and have been warned that they must adapt or many will face closure.

Credit unions helped to transform Ireland in the past. With the right moves, they can help do it again, writes Bill Hobbs

CREDIT unions can be some of the very best examples of a community or a group of workers uniting to help themselves.

CREDIT ratings agency Moody’s has warned that Irish banks could remain outside regular inter-bank lending markets if bondholders are forced to share the burden of losses.

A CREDIT union office worker has secured a High Court injunction preventing her employers from dismissing her because she will reach the age of 65 next Monday.

CREDIT rating agency Fitch has slashed Ireland’s debt profile by three notches.

CREDIT demand for corporate activity on a Europe-wide basis is expected to surge over the current quarter, following inactivity in bank lending.

CREDIT difficulties are holding up progress in the LEADER rural development scheme, for which funding of more than €425 million is allocated for the six years to 2013.

CREDIT unions are to offer debit cards and electronic transfers in a move described as the biggest single change to the movement in decades.

CREDIT unions have been warned that they may still face shocks in some investment portfolios while also told that governance of their boards will be scrutinised.

CREDIT unions in difficulty should merge with larger operations according to a plan proposed for the movement.

CREDIT rating agency, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has lowered its rating on Irish Life & Permanent (IL&P) from an A-/A-1 level to BBB+/A-2, adding that the lender’s overall financial profile was “relatively poor”.

CREDIT rating agency Standard & Poor’s has dropped the Irish banking system from its top-rated group of countries.

CREDIT cardholders whose details were used illegally when fraudsters gained access to the database of an Irish online retailer will not suffer any financial loss, it was confirmed yesterday.

CREDIT is due to the protesters in London, Paris, San Francisco and elsewhere who ensured the Olympic torch did not have the smooth run that Chinese officials had expected.

New Zealand won their ninth Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens title and first since 2001 with a 26-12 victory over South Africa.

CREDIT availability is likely to tighten further this year, according to one of the country’s leading stockbrokers which yesterday lowered its economic forecasts.

CREDIT ratings agency Standard & Poor’s does not expect Irish banks to be affected by the liquidity problems that have crushed Northern Rock.

CREDIT unions in Ireland extended their reach into the economy north and south in 2006 as membership climbed to well over 3 million and lending increased 8% to €7.5 billion.

CREDIT unions are increasingly lending larger sums of money as borrowers seek finance for new cars, home improvements, foreign holidays and even stock exchange investments.

CREDIT unions should be able to offer longer term loans to customers according to a report from the Department of Finance.

CREDIT unions in the North will be at a disadvantage if the Financial Regulator imposes a guaranteed savings protection scheme (SPS), the credit union movement has warned.

CREDIT unions will provide financial services to areas from which commercial banks have departed, the new president of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), Anne O’Byrne, pledged yesterday.

CREDIT demand increased in February despite clear indications that people have started to borrow less for housing.

CREDIT where it is due. The Minister for Finance’s inclusion in his budget of €900m over 2006-09 for services for people with disability and their carers is warmly to be welcomed.

CREDIT ratings agency Fitch expects no improvement in the financial position over the next year.

CREDIT CARD fraud is up between 10 and 20% despite a drop in the number of credit card transactions from €69 million in 2000 to €63 million last year.