SF Criticises New Credit Union Regulations

New Credit Union regulations announced by the Central Bank have been criticised by Sinn Féin, who said that they are without "support of reason".

Finance spokesperson, Pearse Doherty, said: "These long awaited rules, especially the introduction of a €100,000 cap on savings, albeit with some flexibility, represent a move by the Central Bank that is without support and largely without reason.

"When the Registrar was before the Finance Committee recently to discuss these regulations she failed to show how they were reasonable or how they were necessary.

"It seems when it comes to the Credit Union movement all the normal rules of regulation such as risk weighted regulation are thrown out the window and an ever tightening grip is applied."

He continued: "My party firmly believes in strong and robust regulation as does the Credit Union movement itself. On the key issues here though the Central Bank has crossed the line into overly restrictive rules designed to control rather than to ensure stability and the potential for growth.

"I am disappointed that although a reference to investments in social housing appears this is only as a possible future measure. Given the Credit Union movement have presented the Registrar with their plans in this regard I would hope this could become a reality sooner rather than later.

"Overall, these new regulations will confirm the fear of the Credit Union movement that the Central Bank backed by government are not serious about promoting the work and ethos of the Credit Union movement.

"The regulations are lacking evidence as to why they are appropriate and are lacking public and stakeholder support which is hardly surprising given that the consultation process seems to have largely been window dressing."

(MH/JP)