Charleville now to have two credit unions?

KILMALLOCK SET TO FOLLOW MALLOW CREDIT UNION INTO CHARLEVILLE

HAVING spent a month without any credit union, following the closure of its own, it seems Charleville may now be destined to have two, all within a matter of a few months.

This week, a spokesperson for Kilmallock Credit Union confirmed that the Co. Limerick branch will open an office in Charleville, close to the town post office.

The Kilmallock move comes weeks after Mallow Credit Union opened a branch in the building that previously housed the ill-fated Charleville branch.

When the Charleville office was closed down, Kilmallock Credit Union embarked on a campaign advertising their services in the Charleville area. However, Mallow Credit Union then got clearance from the Central Bank to open an office in the town.

A SPOKESPERSON for Kilmallock Credit Union has confirmed that the Co. Limerick branch will open an office in Charleville, where the local credit union has been wound up.

The Kilmallock move was unexpected in the light of Mallow Credit Union already opening a branch in the original building which heretofore housed the ill-fated Charleville branch.

The Central Bank of Ireland closed Charleville Credit Union without warning at the end of September and left the town without a credit union branch for the month of October. The branch was eventually taken over by Mallow Credit Union and they officially opened for business some weeks ago.

When the Charleville office was closed down, Kilmallock Credit Union embarked on an extensive advertising campaign in local press and on billboards around the Charleville area, advertising their services and terms, and indeed attracted a lot of business from Charleville across the border to Kilmallock after the closure of the local office.

Now staff member Ken Douglas at Kilmallock Credit Union has confirmed that they are opening a branch office in Charleville in a building in the vicinity of Charleville Post Office. Thus, there is presently an unusual situation in that Charleville, which had no credit union office in October, is about to have two credit union offices in December.

This week, a spokesperson for the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) explained that the ILCU is a trade and representative organisation for credit unions but does not have any power with regards to regulating credit unions. The Central Bank of Ireland is the regulator for credit unions and, as such, in a situation where a credit union applies for an extension to their common bond, the decision to approve this would lie with the Central Bank.

“In a situation where the common bond of two credit unions overlaps, people in that locality are eligible to join either credit union. What is of paramount importance in Charleville is that the former members of Charleville Credit Union, and the local community, continue to benefit from credit union services,” said the spokesperson for the ILCU.

In November, Mallow Credit Union made an application to the Central Bank to extend its common bond area into Charleville. This was approved and Mallow CU has since moved into the former Charleville CU offices in the town.