BELFAST, Northern Ireland–Credit unions from 55 countries around the world kicked off the World Council of Credit Unions’ World CU Conference here yesterday, discovering just how interwoven credit unions have been in a city that has suffered much strife in recent decades.
Those in attendance heard opening remarks from government officials and CU representatives talking about what credit unions have meant—and continue to mean—to Belfast. In addition, two elected officials offered insights into what is going on with the “Brexit” and what might happen now, while CUs were entertained by, what else, a stage full of Irish dancers.
Below, CUToday.info has full coverage of the opening day of the meeting.
A Finance Minister ‘Steeped In CU Values’
BELFAST, Northern Ireland– Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, minister of finance with the Northern Ireland Assembly, didn’t need anyone to give him a backgrounder on credit unions.
Martin O Muilleoir speaking to WOCCU meeting.
Ó Muilleoir told the opening session of WOCCU’s World CU Conference here that his parents helped establish in the 1960s in the Antagonish Credit Union in Belfast, which had been inspired by the Antagonish Credit Union in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Ó Muilleoir said he is a “proud credit unionist who is steeped in credit union values globally and here in Ireland.”
“There are two other great aspects of the credit union movement we should recognize: the first is mission,” said Ó Muilleoir. “When someone joins a credit union it means they want to do better for themselves, for their family and their future. That inspires me as finance minister.”
In a city that has been torn for decades by civil strife, Ó Muilleoir said, “We want to move from a peace process to a prosperity process, and that ambition is at the heart of the credit union movement.”
The second great value of the credit union movement, according to Ó Muilleoir, is solidarity: “Solidarity between communities and internationally.”
Eliciting a few laughs from his audience, Ó Muilleoir said he wanted to pay a special welcome to credit unions that hailed from countries in the European Union (Northern Ireland voted strongly in favor of remaining in the EU, while the UK overall voted in favor of the “Brexit.”)
“It is my pledge and my hope that we will remain as part of the European Union,” he said.
A Bridge Across a “Bitter Division’
BELFAST, Northern Ireland–Even if they aren’t familiar with all the details, many attending the World Council’s World CU Conference here are aware of the “troubles,” the long-time civil strife in Northern Ireland that has only recently come to a truce.
Brian McCrory at WOCCU meeting in Belfast.
What many weren’t aware of is the role credit unions played and continue to play as a bridge between many of the divided communities.
“The world is awash in money today, but what it is lacking is trust,” said Brian McCrory, chairman of the Irish League of Credit Unions, which represents CUs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. “Our greatest asset is the trust that our members hold and enjoy in both their credit union and in the credit union movement. CUs do not have all of the answers to the world’s problems, but we are part of the solution. Before any one specific issue can be reckoned with, one single issue underpins them all, and that issue is trust. Credit unions stand for trust, not as a slogan that is marketed, but as an ethos that is to be lived. In Belfast, this city which is marked historically by bitter division, we know the value of trust.”
McCrory told the meeting the real capital credit unions hold is the trust one member has in another.
“In our city, when in the deepest troubles and when people feared traveling to city center at night, credit unions were a beacon of help,” said McCrory. “In a divided city, credit unions provided a strong sense of civic value. Credit unions lived out the values our city failed to live up to.”
Much of what drove the Brexit vote was fears over globalization, and McCrory observed, “We are a global movement that is an answer to globalization. We are the community presence.”
Two Politicians Offer A Take on the ‘Brexit’
BELFAST, Northern Ireland–For many Americans, including at credit unions, their only connection to the “Brexit” has been declining mortgage rates and cheaper travel in the U.K.
From left, moderator Nick Garrett with Marian Harkin and Mark Durkan.
But the Americans, along with others from around the world in attendance at the World Council of Credit Unions’ World CU Conference here, were given an insiders’ look at the vote by the U.K. to leave the European Union by two politicians: Marian Harkin, a member of the European Parliament from Northern Ireland, and Mark Durkan, a member of Parliament, representing the U.K.
Here’s a look at what each had to say in response to questions posed to them:
Q: What about your reaction to the Brexit?
Durkan: It was strange. My own sense was it was always a coin running on its side and it could fall either way. It was a bizarre campaign. People found it hard to pick between the impossible and the implausible. My own constituency voted to remain. At Westminster, people are just (as confused) over the result. You’re hearing things that in the past you would have dismissed as a rumor that turn out to be understatements. So there is a lot of churn causing concern.
The three people who ran the Brexit campaign are more like the three egos rather than the three amigos. It’s now a situation where (with the new government) if you break it, you own it.
Harkin: In Brussels, the sense of shock was palpable. People were afraid it might happen, but they couldn’t believe it had actually happened. From my own perspective there are two things I regret hugely: In the bigger picture what devastated me is that the EU has been (at the forefront of) making this a better world. It is the greatest peace project ever. It leads in so many areas. Of course, we get things wrong, but we get a lot of stuff right. The second regret is that I am devastated that our British colleagues could not see it within themselves to be a part of that, that they couldn’t see how to (drive) change from the inside. There are so many challenges and I would have just loved it if the British could have seen it to help us with the solutions.
Q: What are your views on credit unions?
Harkin: It is a great feeling to be in a room with this movement, where not-for-profit is spoken. In my constituency I often visit with credit unions in the local towns, and they sometimes are the very glue that holds those communities together. I have a strong belief in credit unions. One of the reason they say people voted for Brexit was globalization, that it has nothing for them. For me credit unions are a way to respond to that: a belief they can do something for themselves.
Durkan: The credit union movement in Derry is very, very strong. It is one of the things people are proudest of. It really is the fabric of the community in important ways. A lot of the lessons learned in credit unions have been carried on to other causes. As politicians, we know that if the credit unions come to you with a problem, it’s a problem. And the good thing is they don’t just come with a problem they also come with the solution.
Harkin: During my last term and this term I have been vice president of the Credit Union Interest Group in the European Parliament, and our role is to keep an eye out for upcoming legislation that would impact credit unions and their members. I have been very proud to be a part of that. One of the issues we have found more in the Republic than in Northern Ireland that has come from Brussels are possibilities for more proportionate and flexible regulation, that there are (carve-outs) for credit unions, and those have not happened. I think politicians need to be more aware that regulations need to be tiered and proportionate.
Durkan: I was, as a Westminster MP, on committees in financial services, and I would spend a good deal of my time tabling amendments, and saying too much of this one size fits all regulation has been done…I do think in recent times the regulators in London have shown some more common sense, and I think the credit goes to credit unions for positive, constructive conversation.
Irish dancers and drummers perform at WOCCU meeting.
Q: Is the solution in Ireland to just have more mergers to create larger credit unions?
Harkin: Two things have happened. One was ReBo (Credit Union Restructuring Board, which was charged with facilitating mergers). They are supposed to be voluntary, and if they are and that works, that’s fine. But there was a very strong undercurrent, more than a hint, that we are pushing you toward it. That was one level, and at another level has been over-regulation and arbitrary decisions.
On top of all that we had the headlines, “One billion needed to rescue credit unions.” That was a total exaggeration. Four or five CUs got into trouble, yes, but it was nothing like that amount of money. And many credit unions felt beleaguered. It was very difficult to operate in the best interests of their members, and that’s what credit unions should do.
With the crash that came they were not able to lend sometimes really small amounts of money to people who really needed it, and then two three years later politicians tearing their hair out over money lenders.
Q: What do you see in the future?
Harkin: One issue we face in the Republic is the regulator is almost untouchable. And we should have learned that no one should be untouchable; regulators got it wrong once before. Politicians are answerable to the public, to their constituencies, and they can’t just wash their hands of a situation. And the credit union regulator shouldn’t be (regulated by the bank regulator).