Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Finance his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the Credit Union Bill [46841/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Credit Union Bill 2012 is consistent with the Final Report of the Commission on Credit Unions, which was agreed over a nine-month period by all Commission members, including the Irish League of Credit Unions. The Credit Union Bill delivers on over 60 of the recommendations in the Commission Report, as the following table clearly shows. The Commission included representatives of the Irish League of Credit Unions, the Credit Union Development Association, the Credit Union Managers Association, the Central Bank and the Department of Finance, as well as independent members. The Commission met 29 times between June 2011 and 30 March 2012.

The Commission sought direct engagement from credit unions to ensure that its recommendations took account of a broad range of perspectives. A consultation process sought submissions from members of the public and interested parties that would facilitate the good functioning of the Irish credit union movement into the future. The submissions received were used to inform the Commission’s final report. Furthermore, the Commission undertook a survey of credit unions in Ireland which sought the opinions of credit union boards on a wide range of issues. The Commission also received a number of presentations, including from those within the credit union movement.

The Commission members took a hands-on approach to the Report and the ILCU was centrally involved in its development, drafting and finalisation. The ILCU is not only a signatory to the agreed report, but a co-author of it. If we are to build confidence in credit unions it is important that all those who drafted and agreed the Commission report continue to stand behind it. The difficulties being faced by credit unions and the scale of the challenge ahead require steadfastness and leadership at all levels of the movement.

The Government has already shown its commitment to the credit union sector by putting aside a figure of €500m to address problems within the sector at a time when the Government faces difficult budgetary choices and competing needs for scarce resources, there is an onus on the credit union movement to embrace the necessary changes to ensure that this commitment on behalf of the taxpayer delivers a viable sector into the future.

The Government’s commitment to implementing the Commission Report is backed by solid early delivery of major elements of it:

- the publication of the Credit Union Bill 2012 (which implements over 60 recommendations);

- the commencement of contributions under the Deposit Guarantee Scheme and fitness and probity; and

- the appointment of the Credit Union Restructuring Board and the early commencement of its work.

In order to ensure full implementation of the Commission Report, I have established an Implementation Group which includes representatives from the Irish League of Credit Unions, the Credit Union Development Association and the Credit Union Managers Association; the Chair of the statutory Credit Union Advisory Committee; a former member of the Commission on Credit Unions; and representatives from the Central Bank and the Department of Finance. I have asked my officials to arrange for the issues raised in the correspondence to be considered at the next meeting of that Group.

In terms of legislation, the vast bulk of the core provisions to apply to credit unions will be set out in the Credit Union Act 1997 and the Credit Union Bill 2012. However, as recommended by the Commission Report, the Credit Union Bill 2012 seeks to rectify the legal issues surrounding section 184 of the Credit Union Act 1997, which purports to disapply the Central Bank Acts as far as credit unions are concerned, but which has merely served to create legal doubt on this point. In revisiting section 184, care has been taken to avoid substantive new policy provisions applying to credit unions arising from what is a largely technical amendment. For that reason provisions such as section 117 of the Central Bank Act 1989 (and the Central Bank codes made under it) and Part IV of the Central Bank Act 1997 (relating to auditors and compliance statements) are disapplied under the Bill.

However, with regard to the Central Bank Acts and other financial services legislation it is also important to understand that the agreed Commission Report cannot be implemented if credit unions are to be excluded from their remit:

- The provision for credit unions to appeal to the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal is provided for in Part VIIA of the Central Bank Act 1942;

- The facility for credit union members - and indeed credit unions themselves - to continue to seek redress through the Financial Services Ombudsman relies on Part VIIB of the Central Bank Act 1942;

- The application of the administrative sanction regime to credit unions relies upon Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act 1942;

- The application of fitness and probity to credit unions relies on Part 3 of the Central Bank Reform Act 2010;

- The resolution powers which the Commission recommends to be applied to credit unions where appropriate are set out in the Central Bank and Credit Institutions (Resolution) Act 2011.

It is not the case that the Central Bank Acts are banking legislation. The principal domestic Act dealing with the establishment of banks is the Central Bank Act 1971. The references in that Act to credit unions are specifically required to ensure that credit unions are not subject to a banking regime; for example, by exempting credit unions from the requirement to obtain a banking licence in order to accept members’ savings.

It is worth noting that several other pieces of legislation already apply to credit unions and have done so for many years.

- The application of regulatory levies to credit unions has for many years applied to credit unions under the Central Bank Act 1942;

- The insuring of savings at credit unions relies on the application of the Financial Services (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) Act 2009;

- The establishment and operational arrangements for the Registrar of Credit Unions itself are set out in the Central Bank Act 1942.

In the broader financial services area, and as part of their core work, credit unions are already subject to a wide range on non-credit-union-specific legislation, such as the Consumer Credit Regulations 2010, the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005, the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act) Act 2010 as well as other legislation of general application, such as the Equality Acts and the Data Protection Acts. In fact, many credit unions have become able to offer an improved range of services to their members by actively securing authorisation from the Central Bank beyond the confines of the Credit Union Acts under the Insurance Mediation Regulations 2005, the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 and the European Community (Payment Services) Regulations 2009.

The Commission specifically recommended that the powers and functions intended under the Supervision and Enforcement Bill 2011 be applied to credit unions. Restating these provisions in the Credit Union Bill would have no different legal effect and would create needless duplication in the drafting and parliamentary processes, thereby delaying the reforms to no discernible advantage. My Department is currently considering the issue of an appeal mechanism from directions issued by the Bank under the Supervision and Enforcement Bill and has already met with ILCU to discuss the matter.

With regard to term limits, it is important to note that the Commission was charged with bringing forward recommendations for the Irish credit union sector and that it was not bound to limit its thinking to approaches in place in other financial sectors or in other jurisdictions. I understand that the Commission recommendation on term limits was the subject of much discussion at the Commission and that the ILCU was centrally involved in the development of the final recommendation, which was clear and unambiguous as regards the limits to apply. The Commission recommendation is reflected exactly in the Credit Union Bill 2012.

The position regarding exclusions from Board membership also reflects the Commission recommendation and the discussion at the Commission when it considered the General Scheme of the Bill. The ILCU played a full part in considering and agreeing the balanced set of exclusions to apply, which are aimed at underpinning good governance and avoiding conflicts of interest.

The correspondence referred to in the question raises concerns about the removal of the role of the treasurer. Retaining the role of treasurer would conflict directly with the recommendations of the Commission report. In order to ensure that the role and responsibilities of board and management do not overlap and that board members have governance rather than executive responsibilities, the Commission specifically recommended that the 1997 Act be amended to remove the role of treasurer and assign executive responsibilities to the management of the credit union. However, cognisant of the fact that credit unions are financial institutions, the Commission recommended that the board should include at least one director with specialised expertise, qualifications and background in financial services and/or accounting matters.

Volunteers are central to the success of the credit union movement and to its path towards a viable future. The Commission’s agreed report, and the Credit Union Bill which flows from it, retains the voluntary nature of the movement and provides for proper training and development of directors and other volunteers, succession planning and for greater clarity as regards the roles and responsibilities of those in key positions within credit unions, voluntary or otherwise. This will position well-run credit unions to attract talented and qualified volunteers within the community who see the benefit of self-development through the training, skills and experience to be gained at credit unions. While participation at board level is an important role, it is equally important to give due credit to the valuable contribution that may be made by volunteers in non-board roles, including by former directors in training and nurturing future board members.

The Commission report recognises that volunteers are crucial to the continued success of the movement, and that it is important that credit unions consider fully the role of volunteers when planning their business strategy. The Commission recommends a planned effort by credit unions to seek-out potential candidates with the necessary levels of skill and commitment, and a greater use of succession plans and volunteer development strategies. The ILCU can play an important part here, as the Commission Report notes that, given that this is likely to be a movement-wide issue, there may also be a role for representative bodies in providing promotion and marketing, as well as advice on how best to identify, engage and train new volunteers.

In relation to the size of the tiers, the Commission Report recommends a tiered approach to the regulation of credit unions and sets out, for illustration purposes only, how such a tiering might work. The Credit Union Bill specifically provides that requirements being applied to credit unions may be calibrated according to the nature, scale and complexity of the credit unions or categories of credit union concerned. This is in line with the approach recommended by the Commission and appears to address the concern about regulatory requirements being limited to considerations of asset size alone.

The Commission recommended that the establishment of shared service arrangements should be facilitated, by legislation where necessary. There does not appear to be any obstacles in the current legislation or in the Bill to setting up credit union service organisations (CUSOs) to enable the sharing of services between credit unions. Indeed the Credit Union Bill facilitates such arrangements by allowing flexibility for Central Bank regulations on investments by credit unions and by specifically providing a framework for the outsourcing of credit union operations. These changes will help to facilitate the development of shared services arrangements by credit unions.

In relation to Social Finance, the Commission Report recommends that the role needs to be carefully designed to integrate prudently with the basic credit union business of savings and lending services for individuals. The Commission also recommends that a formal process of engagement be established between the credit union representative bodies and Government to determine safe ways to invest collective credit union funds into community projects, employment initiatives and small co-operatives. I remain open to proposals from the credit union movement on this front and it does not appear that primary legislation is required in order to facilitate this.

In the case of electronically enabled payment accounts, there does not appear to be any obstacles in the current legislation or the Bill to the development of these initiatives, and indeed many credit unions already offer such payment accounts.

The Commission recommended that a consultation protocol should be in place between the Central Bank and credit unions. This protocol is to be developed following consultation between the Central Bank, myself as Minister for Finance, credit union representative bodies and the Credit Union Advisory Committee. The protocol is to set out how the Central Bank proposes to engage with credit unions in any formal consultation process prior to the introduction of new regulations. The protocol may provide for varying levels of consultation depending on the nature and complexity of the regulation being proposed. This will have the effect of increasing transparency and confidence in the regulation making process. This protocol is to include the specific requirement that consultation does not impact on the statutory independence of the Central Bank in the regulation of credit unions. I understand that a draft of the protocol has already been circulated to stakeholders for comment and that the ILCU has made a submission which is being considered by the Central Bank.