ILCU Allays Members' Fears

The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has issued a statement in relation to Newbridge Credit Union.

Over the weekend, it was announced that Newbridge Credit Union had been transferred to Permanent TSB, but ILCU has since reassured its members that credit unions remain strong and secure.

The statement adds that the credit union is not affiliated to the ILCU.

It continued: "Because Newbridge Credit Union Limited is not affiliated to the ILCU, we do not have information specific as to that credit union's situation other than that which is in the public domain, and therefore we are not in a position to comment. We note recent reports in the media that the Central Bank of Ireland will seek to transfer Newbridge Credit Union to PTSB.

"The League does not yet have full information on this reported intention and we are concerned that such a move may not be in the best interests of the members of Newbridge Credit Union. We believe it is of critical importance that a credit union service continues to be available to the Newbridge community.

"Credit unions are currently going through year end process and, in the coming weeks, the Irish League of Credit Unions will publish our forecast for final returns for the movement as is standard practice.

"Those figures will show that credit unions in the Republic of Ireland, which are affiliated to the ILCU, are in a strong financial position with capital levels equal to or in excess of those required by the Central Bank."

The statement concluded that savings of €100,000 are protected by the State's deposit guarantee scheme.

Newbridge Credit Union has approximately 32,000 deposit accounts and 7,000 loan accounts, all of which will now be managed by Permanent TSB.

In a statement, the bank said there would be no change in operations and members of the credit union did not need to take any action.

(JP/IT)