New ILCU boss to look at future for Irish credit unions

The new president of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), Drumree man Mark Bailey, is to establish a stakeholders" forum to look at the future of credit unions in Ireland. Mr Bailey, a director of Dunshaughlin Credit Union, was recently elected to the national position, and says that one of his first initiatives will be to get together credit union experts to look at what the three- to five-year future for credit unions holds. He is concerned about the ability of smaller credit unions to continue to provide services to members in the current climate. Mr Bailey has been involved in the credit union movement since 1992, when he became a volunteer in the Dunshaughlin office where he had been a member since 1990. In 1993, he joined the board at Dunshaughlin. 'I became treasurer in 1997,' Mr Bailey explained. 'In April 2001, I was elected to the board of the Irish League of Credit Unions, and have served four terms of two years. There"s a maximum of 10 so I"m in my last two-year stint.' He believes the fact he was a vocal critic of ISIS - the movement"s failed attempt to introduce a common electronic fund transfer facility that cost €35 million - brought him some attention within the organisation, and when they went looking for new blood, he was talked into getting involved at national level. He is taking up the reins at a time of an unprecedented economic downturn. 'It"s a different type of situation than 50 years ago when the credit unions were founded,' he said. 'Then, people looking for loans didn"t have a large personal debt. Now, many have a sizeable personal debt.' He said that what the credit union has to ensure is that people are not transferring debts and taking out loans with them to cover loans elsewhere. The credit union movement had the foresight to set up its own stabilisation fund in 1989, and the decision of the Government to extend protection under the Deposit Guarantee Scheme to credit union members last September was taken to ensure that credit unions did not suffer any disadvantage against other financial service providers in the jurisdiction who would benefit from increased levels of protection. 'We appreciate the consideration given by the Minister for Finance to the credit unions,' Mr Bailey added. One of his priorities is to continue to engage with the Government and its agencies to properly represent the interests of credit unions and members. He also wants to progress the delivery of the agreed Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which will allow the 508 credit unions offer the kind of financial services that members, especially younger members, expect from financial institutions. As all financial transactions in every institution are being scrutinised in the current economic climate, Mr Bailey said he is aware of criticism of credit unions investing in portfolios with disproportionate risk. 'I feel a small number of credit unions, albeit with the best of intentions, were perhaps overzealous and allowed themselves to be attracted by higher returns,' he said. Steps are being taken by the Financial Regulator and the ILCU to ensure that credit unions come out the other end of the period of uncertainty well-equipped to continue to serve their 2.9 million members. These include restricting the distribution of surplus funds, affecting dividend levels across the movement, increasing reserve requirements, and a stringent focus on governance and prudent providing for bad debt. Mr Bailey became a director of the World Council of Credit Unions in 2004, and became vice-president of the ILCU in 2007. He served on many committees, including administration and legislation groups, and was a project leader for a third-level qualification which has been designed specifically for credit unions in partnership with the University of Ulster business institute. Recently, Mr Bailey"s credit union branch in Dunshaughlin held a celebration to mark his national appointment, as did the local area network, known as Chapter Six, at Slane Credit Union premises. Barbara Markey, chairperson of Chapter Six, wished Mr Bailey well in the challenging times ahead of him as ILCU president, describing him as a man of great ability, dedication, commitment and loyalty who would provide leadership, inspiration and direction to the movement. He was joined at the event by his wife, Jennifer; sons, Matthew and Andrew; parents, Noel and Myrtle; sister, Sylvia, and brother, David.