Tánaiste and Minister Troy welcome the update from the Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC) on a Corporate Credit Union and Asset Liability Management
- Foilsithe:
- An t-eolas is déanaí:
- Corporate Credit Union approach noted as offering strong potential for shared services
The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris TD, and Minister of State for Financial Services, Credit Unions, and Insurance, Robert Troy TD, today (Friday, 6 March 2026) welcomed the publication of the “Corporate Credit Union and Asset Liability Management Paper” by the Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC).
The CUAC is a statutory body set up to provide advice to the Ministers on matters relating to credit unions.
This CUAC publication was requested by the Ministers to provide information on Corporate Credit Unions and general Asset and Liability Management (ALM).
A Corporate Credit Union is a new provision included in the Credit Union Amendment Act (2023) which permits the establishment of a credit union for credit unions, or a collaborative credit union which can support shared services. A Corporate Credit Union has many potential uses including but not limited to ALM, Investment Management, Payment Services, Treasury, Centralised IT management.
ALM is an area of increased focus for credit unions following the introduction of revised lending regulations, effective September 2025, which permit credit unions to expand housing and business lending by approximately €10.1 billion.
Central Bank analysis states that additional longer term lending requires credit unions to develop stronger ALM Risk Management practices and greater consideration of the impact of longer term investments on liquidity.
The CUAC paper supports this view and suggests a number of risk mitigation tools that credit unions could consider as they grow their longer term loan book. CUAC supports prudent sustainable growth in the credit union sector and encourages the sector to maximise existing growth opportunities in personal lending and loan product diversification.
The paper made the following observations:
- The traditional personal loan market funded by on demand member savings is adequately supported by the existing ALM Framework within the sector. A material increase in longer term loans will require a more robust ALM framework that can be developed over time.
- CUAC continues to support the view that the Corporate Credit Union can support the development of services, at scale, to members. One possible vision for the Corporate Credit Union is a strongly capitalised Centralised Finance Facility that provides the infrastructure to support many distinct business activities.
- Some possible solutions to the challenges of setting up a Centralised Finance Facility are:
- ‘right sizing’ the entity for the needs of the Irish credit unions
- phasing of development and
- consider a possible commercial agreement with an appropriately experienced international corporate credit union entity.
- The size of the Irish market reinforces the view that the number of Corporate Credit Unions should be kept to a minimum
- Comprehensive access to data remains an impediment to fully understanding the financial positions of some credit unions
Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris TD, commented:
“I thank CUAC for producing a valuable resource for credit unions. The Corporate Credit Union provides the credit union sector with a structure to collaborate, share costs and evolve in a sustainable manner. It may take some time to implement and there are many regulatory considerations. I am confident that the sector has the commitment and ambition to maximise the opportunities available under the Credit Union Amendment Act (2023) including a Corporate Credit Union. “
Minister of State for Financial Services, Credit Unions, and Insurance, Robert Troy TD, welcomed the paper saying:
“I thank CUAC for their work and the technical analysis on Asset and Liability Management. Credit unions need to strengthen their Asset and Liability risk management frameworks as their respective loan books grow. This ensures that ALM remains a low level risk item, while reinforcing the opportunity credit unions have to grow their loan book thanks to recent Government support. There are a number of suggestions to continue to manage this risk, and I encourage all credit unions to use the opportunities available to them in a prudent manner. It is also important that there is a collaborative approach across the sector, particularly in regard to the number of corporate credit unions which are necessary. I hope that credit unions consider the role of the Corporate Credit Union as part of the strategy for the sector, on which work is underway.”
ENDS
Notes to Editor
Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC)
The CUAC advises the Minister for Finance in accordance with its mandate under Section 180 of the Credit Union Act 1997. The CUAC’s statutory function is to advise the Minister for Finance and such other persons as the Minister thinks fit regarding:
- the improvement of the management of credit unions;
- the protection of the interests of members and creditors of credit unions; and
- other matters relating to credit unions upon which the Minister, the Central Bank or such other persons as may be specified by the Minister may from time to time seek the advice of the Committee.
Credit Union (Amendment) Act 2023
The Credit Union (Amendment) Act 2023 (the ‘Act’) was signed into law on 13 December 2023.
The Act aims to bring about significant reforms for the credit union sector in Ireland. The Act represents a very significant piece of legislation that will have far-reaching positive implications for the credit union sector in the years to come.
Changes under the Act allow credit unions to refer members to each other. This is of benefit to members as it provides access to services such as current accounts that may not be provided by their credit union but are provided by other credit unions.
Credit unions can now share the risk of lending to members through loan participation. Credit unions can now participate in lending to members of another credit union. This will allow for larger loans to be issued to members.
There have been a number of governance changes under the Act. The Board of Directors can meet less frequently with the timeframe between meetings extended from 6 weeks to 10 weeks and the minimum number of meetings which must be held reduced from 10 meetings to 6 meetings. These changes will assist in streamlining corporate governance.
The majority of the provisions of the Act have now commenced. The provision relating to a Corporate Credit Union or a Collaborative Credit Union has yet to be commenced. A Corporate Credit Union is a credit union that provides centralised services to other credit unions. The establishment of a Corporate Credit Union is potentially transformative for the sector. A material level of Central Bank regulations will be required before a Corporate Credit Union can be formed.