WESTMEATH, Ireland–In an indication of how credit union rules can differ from country to country, the board of Athlone Credit Union here has survived a motion of “no confidence” in a vote by its members.
The motion of no confidence in the board of directors was defeated at a heavily attended special general meeting in the Radisson Blu Hotel, according to The Independent. Almost 400 members were in attendance and the motion of no confidence was defeated on a show of hands.
The special general meeting was called by the ACU after it had been requested to do so by a number of members.
The request for the meeting, which was made by 71 members, called for a special general meeting to “propose a motion of no confidence in the board of directors of Athlone Credit Union Limited for failing to fulfill their functions as laid down in Section 55 of Credit Union Act 1997 (as amended).”
Following the vote, the credit union’s chairman, Alan MacNeice, was quoted by The Independent as saying, "I would like to thank the many members who attended the Athlone Credit Union SGM. The turnout of members was remarkable. It was a very important meeting in Athlone Credit Union's evolution. The members listened attentively, with many making worthwhile and interesting contributions. Following the vote, the credit union shall continue its work, offering members the most attractive financial services in the town and working to realize the potential of the credit union to do much more for our members".
The Westmeath Independent had earlier reported that the vote was called for by members in part because Athlone Credit Union has not been paying its dividends.
A letter sent to members said there were two other reasons the special meeting was being sought:
- In order “to clarify the nature and extent of the outstanding regulatory issues in Athlone Credit Union Limited, which are preventing the holding of the AGM of Athlone Credit Union Limited resulting in non-approval and payments of dividends to members and leading to the creation of reputational risk,” the publication stated
- To “raise concerns over the effective governance of Athlone Credit Union Limited”