Joint Liquidators appointed to Drumcondra and District Credit Union
17 July 2020
Press Release
- Action taken in the best interests of members and the broader public
- Full Resolution Report and Affidavit released
- Deposit Guarantee Scheme has made payouts to most eligible depositors
- The action taken is not related to the exceptional circumstances of COVID-19
Following an application by the Central Bank of Ireland (“Central Bank”), the High Court today appointed Stephen Tennant and Nicholas O’Dwyer of Grant Thornton as Joint Liquidators to Drumcondra and District Credit Union Limited (“Drumcondra Credit Union”). Stephen Tennant and Nicholas O’Dwyer had previously been appointed Provisional Liquidators on 2 July 2020.
The Central Bank decided to use its legal power to apply for the winding-up of Drumcondra Credit Union having given due consideration to the circumstances detailed in the partially redacted Resolution Report (PDF 1.26MB) and the Affidavit (PDF 2.97MB) of Wesley Murphy, Head of Resolution and Crisis Management Division, documents which are published today in partially redacted form. These documents contain information about Drumcondra Credit Union’s distressed financial position. The Central Bank has taken this action to protect members’ savings and to avoid a disorderly failure of the credit union.
In presenting its assessment to the High Court, the Central Bank outlined its belief that all feasible options available to Drumcondra Credit Union to raise and maintain its reserves at the levels required by law had been exhausted. The Central Bank has engaged extensively with Drumcondra Credit Union in recent years with a view to ensuring that it addressed its financial viability issues. The Central Bank’s view was that Drumcondra Credit Union has been provided with the opportunity to address the issues concerned and, in the opinion of the Central Bank, they had not been adequately addressed.
Since the appointment of the provisional liquidators, the Deposit Guarantee Scheme (“DGS”), administered by the Central Bank, has issued compensation payments to approximately 4,600 members of Drumcondra Credit Union. The total amount of compensation paid to date amounts to €12.9 million, representing over 95% of eligible deposits covered by the Scheme. These member payments were issued by the DGS on 10 July 2020. Further information and updates on the DGS can be found on www.depositguarantee.ie.
In line with our statutory mandate, the Central Bank seeks to achieve a financially stable credit union sector that operates in a transparent and fair manner and safeguards its members’ funds. The appointment of joint liquidators to Drumcondra Credit Union will not impact on members’ savings in any other credit union.
The Central Bank is aware that there is a demand for the services of a credit union in the community and is committed to seeking to ensure that credit union services are available within the local area.
Further information