Cantillon: Is ILCU too quick to stick the boot into the banks?

The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) likes to do a bit of bank-bashing every now and again. In October, the umbrella group for most of the credit unions in the State accused the Central Bank of adopting an incoherent approach to the sector. The Central Bank applied to the courts to have a judicial action on the matter heard in camera. The ILCU quickly responded, accusing the bank of trying to "cloak the proceedings and the challenge to its decisions from public scrutiny".

In its annual overview of figures, out today, the ILCU takes a break from highlighting its growth in savings and assets, to point out how reckless the banks were during the boom. It notes how the Irish banks tripled in size (€201 billion to €621 billion) between 2003 and 2008, borrowing heavily to fund this growth. Credit unions, on the other hand, grew at more modest rates, according to the ILCU, advancing by 38 per cent over the same period, and were totally self-financed throughout. It’s fair to say, the ILCU has a point in this case. The banks were greedy.

The ILCU goes on to point out the banks needed a bailout by the taxpayer as a result of the credit bubble burst.

That may be so, but the ILCU should also remember the mistakes of one credit union have also cost the taxpayer tens of millions of euro. In fact, that credit union seemed to have been as bad as the banks during the boom years, with its loan book peeking at €150 million in 2009. In addition to issuing traditional credit union loans to personal borrowers, it had also become involved in issuing larger loans to businesses, including several property developers.

While the credit union in question was not an ILCU member, it is far from the only one feeling the squeeze. The long-term financial health and viability of as many as one in four of the network is a matter for concern for the regulator. So maybe then, the ILCU should not be quite so quick to say: “It is clear that the Irish banks leveraged up in an uncontrolled manner and taxpayers paid the price.”