Legislation to give credit unions even greater financial force and allowing for greater co-operation within the sector is going through the Oireachtas. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin
According to the report, when someone joins a credit union, “they are not simply joining a banking service, rather they join a caring group fixated with providing relevant services to people they know in local communities. When you walk into a bank you get an interview, when your walk into a credit union you get a hug.”Share options and family loans feature in unheralded Finance Bill measuresThe effusiveness continued. “Credit unions get to know their members like their own family.
They will allow credit unions to pass on members to other credit unions for services, even if they do not provide the service themselves and will allow credit unions to club together to provide loans, either through loan participation or syndication constructs. “For local community organisations seeking larger loans, there will be more access to affordable finance options as their local credit union will be allowed to co-lend and share loans with other credit unions.”