Irish League of Credit Unions: No more cases like Rush on horizon
Rush — which had over 11,400 members with savings of €24m — entered provisional liquidation in October over allegations of money laundering and financial misappropriation.
Speaking yesterday on the back of a strong set of annual figures for the wider credit union movement, ILCU chief executive Ed Farrell said: “While what happened at Rush Credit Union is regrettable, it is important to put it in context.
"This was an extremely rare occurence. Overall, the movement is strong and very well capitalised. The Central Bank has said that the situation at Rush was at the extreme end of the scale and that there are no other cases like it. And, we would reiterate these comments.”
Yesterday’s data showed that credit union loans have risen by over 6% to €216m this year, with nearly 70% of credit unions growing their loan book and gross loan arrears falling by 27% to a 10-year low. The figures also show that credit unions have €880m in excess capital above the 10% minimum capital requirements.
Mr Farrell described the figures as “hugely encouraging”, adding that the movement is going into 2017 “from a very positive position and will continue to succeed because we continue to change to meet members’ needs”.
“The figures are reflective of a movement that continues to grow and strengthen, while confidence continues to be expressed by the steady growth in membership,” said Mr Farrell.
