IFSRA to meet credit unions

The new financial services regulator will meet individual credit unions across the State in the next month.

They will discuss a range of issues surrounding the new regulatory structure for the credit union movement, including how it will be funded and how members' savings can be better protected.

There are 535 credit unions in Ireland with more than 2.5 million members and assets that exceed € 8 billion.

While there are two representative groups - the Irish League of Credit Unions and the Credit Unions Development Association - individual credit unions retain a large degree of autonomy.

Mr Liam O'Reilly, chief executive of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA), and Mr Brendan Logue, the recently-appointed registrar for the credit unions, will host the meetings in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Sligo, Limerick and Ath- lone.

"This is now the right time to meet and have direct dialogue with the credit union movement throughout the country," said Mr Logue.

"We have already had many contacts with the representative bodies but I am particularly keen now to listen to and consult individual credit unions."

Credit unions came under the supervision of the new single financial regulator last year, though the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, accepted that they required a different regulatory approach than mainstream financial service providers, which IFSRA also oversees.