Irish CU leader blames country's bank chiefs in crisis

DUBLIN, Ireland (10/9/08)--Samuel Adair, president, Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), said it would be an embarrassment if the credit union movement ever was in the financial crisis that Irish banks now find themselves.

ILCU would not seek a similar guarantee to the government's $545 billion of Irish banks because credit unions did not want to be linked or associated with bankers, Adair said (Sunday Tribune Oct. 5).

The current financial crisis besetting banks was evidence that credit unions have a better record of acting on behalf of saver's interests than banks do, Adair told the paper.

Although Irish credit unions are not underwritten by the government, savers should have confidence in them because credit unions do not give out mortgages and risk exposure there, or receive funding from international money markets, he added.

Deposits in Irish credit unions are guaranteed up to about $136,000, and credit unions have to hold reserves of 10%. Also, the ILCU stabilization fund all help credit unions if they experience trouble, Adair said.

Despite the fact that credit unions in the country of Northern Ireland do not have the $136,000 deposit guarantee, there has been no evidence of funds moving across the border as a consequence, he added.

courtesy of cuna.org