Credit union movement under strain

The crisis that saw liquidators appointed to Rush Credit Union should not have come as a surprise. Members of the community lender, established in the town in 1972, might not necessarily have known about some of the concerns raised by the Central Bank as far back as 2010.

But they should have been asking questions when no annual accounts appeared and no annual meetings were called for the past three years.

Certainly, when gardaí were called in to investigate money allegedly missing during the summer, it was clear something was very wrong. The full details of that investigation have yet to emerge though the High Court heard last week that criminal prosecutions may be brought.

Whether that happens or not, the court was told of significant misappropriation of funds and that gardaí had been notified of suspected money laundering.Yet the credit union’s almost 11,500 members appear to have been content that their money was safe and so was their credit union.

They are right about their money as none has savings in excess of the €100,000 limit that will be covered by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme. But their credit union is gone.

That should be a concern not just to the people of Rush and Lusk but to the broader credit union movement. Already struggling in an environment of low investment returns and falling margins on loans, credit unions have been champing at increased regulation at a time when they are seeking to increase the range of services they can offer members.

They worry that volunteerism – at the heart of the movement since its inception – is disappearing and fear the loss of identity that larger scale and more rigorous structure brings.

But the evidence in Rush, and in other recent high profile collapses or mergers in the sector – such as at Berehaven in Cork and in Newbridge – can only reinforce the resolve of the Central Bank to ensure they are run in a more professional manner. And that is as it should be.

Credit unions are important certainly but never more so than the financial security of their customers.