Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The regulatory reserve ratio seems to be a particular problem for credit unions because they are treated differently from the other institutions. It has been suggested that a change from a simple blunt calculation of the percentage of assets to a risk-weighted calculation, as pertains in other institutions, would avoid the crazy situation whereby credit unions have to reserve 10% of all of their assets, including funds invested in Government bonds. The credit unions have a particular problem with that. The suggestion is that if they were treated in the same way as the other institutions, it would have a more beneficial effect for them.