Ms Noreen Byrne:

The proposal is to remove provident and productive purposes and I am proposing that it should remain for a number of reasons. The provident and productive aspect has been the cornerstone of the credit union movement from the beginning. It is very much part of the identity and just as my colleague, Ted O'Sullivan, told me yesterday, it often appears in the mission statements of credit unions. Its removal would cause unnecessary confusion because it communicates to the credit union member and loan officers that the credit union might be a different entity.

The other point about "provident and productive purposes" is that it is useful language that everybody understands. Members, board members and loan officers understand it. It gives people a language for evaluating lending practice.