The Minister for Finance, Mr Michael Noonan, TD, today welcomed the enactment of legislation to implement the Commission on Credit Unions Report and provide for major reforms in the credit union sector.
The Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012 has been signed in to law and several of its key provisions are commencing immediately.
The Act implements over 60 of the recommendations of the Commission on Credit Unions across a range of areas, including:
- Prudential Regulation – including reserves, liquidity, lending and investments.
- Governance – including the role of the Board, Chair and the Manager.
- Restructuring – providing for a process of amalgamations and transfers to be undertaken on a voluntary, incentivised and time-bound basis and overseen by the Restructuring Board or ‘ReBo’.
- Stabilisation – providing financial support to viable but undercapitalised credit unions.
The early enactment of the Bill clears the way for €250m to be contributed by the Government to the Credit Union Fund created under the legislation. This funding will support the restructuring process and underpin the stability of the credit union sector.