‘The early Credit Union pioneers provide an example of what can be achieved with vision, commitment and leadership.’ Registrar of Credit Unions, Anne Marie McKiernan

• Adapting the vision of the early pioneers of the movement for the modern Ireland is the challenge faced by credit unions
• Innovation and strong leadership necessary, particularly in a rapidly changing financial landscape
• The attraction and retention of active borrowers remains essential

In a speech today to the AGM of Irish League of Credit Unions in the University of Limerick, the Registrar of Credit Unions, Anne Marie McKiernan noted the key challenges for the credit union sector.

She highlighted the importance of harnessing the benefits from sectoral restructuring, the attraction and retention of active borrowers, and business model transformation in an increasingly competitive and rapidly changing financial landscape.

The Registrar said “The pace of change in the financial and technology sectors is relentless. Digitisation of retail financial services has increased the expectations of potential customers who expect high quality services, fair prices and multi-channel convenient on-demand access.”

On proposals for the use of credit union funds, she observed that any proposals put to the Registry of Credit Unions are assessed based on the statutory duty to foster a safer, stronger credit union sector. She said “we are always open to developments that would satisfy these criteria. In our recent regulations, we explicitly added reference to our ability to prescribe further classes of investments which may include investments in ‘projects of a public nature’. This would of course include, but not be limited to, social housing projects.”