Some credit unions not holding AGMs due to concerns
Cork North West TD Aine Collins had told a December meeting of the committee on credit unions that she was aware of one such financial institution that had not held an AGM in three years, which is a source of concern for its members.
“Members are concerned when AGMs are not held. I appreciate the argument about destabilisation. When an AGM is not held, it gets around pretty quickly among the members that there is a problem. It is not open and transparent. We do not want to go back to where we all were a number of years ago, when people did not know what was going on. It is a serious issue,” said Ms Collins, a Fine Gael TD.
Patrick Casey of the Central Bank’s Special Resolution Unit told the committee: “The entities are sensitive to the disclosure of their financial positions in such circumstances, particularly to avoid precipitating a destabilising event. Most credit unions work on their regulatory concerns with a view to holding an AGM.”
In a written follow-up to her query, the Registry of Credit Unions said the primary reasons AGMs were not held were “matters of supervisory concern which have yet to be addressed by credit unions, as well as some cases where the annual accounts now have to be finalised by the credit union”.
“Actions taken by the Registry of Credit Unions in relation to the holding of AGMs seek to ensure protection of the interests of members of individual credit unions. The registry continues to work with each such credit union on a case by case basis in order to resolve all outstanding issues to enable the AGMs proceed as soon as possible. This pro-active follow-up will continue and is included within the planned 2015 supervisory work programme of the Registry,” said the statement to the committee.
The Registry of Credit Unions also said that less than 10% of credit unions have not yet held AGMs in relation to pre-2014 financial year-ends.
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