The Board of Directors have taken the further difficult decision to introduce the following:

1. A maximum shares/savings cap of €10,000 on NEW Adult & Minor Accounts opened on or after 24^th of February 2021
2. From the 1^st of March 2021 a Monthly savings limit of €2,000 on Adult accounts (16 years and over) will be introduced. This savings limit will include lodgements to the following: Shares, Christmas Savings Club and Visual Savings Card. The transactions will include over the counter transactions and electronic fund transfers.
3. From the 1^st of March 2021 a Monthly savings limit of €200 on Minor accounts (15 years and under) will be introduced. This savings limit will include lodgement to the following: Shares, Christmas Savings Club and Visual Savings Card.  The transactions will include over the counter transactions and electronic funds transfers.

 

Please note: These measures are in addition to the current savings cap of €30,000 per Member and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

The reasons why we are limiting monthly savings/imposing a savings cap?

• To reduce the excessive inflow of funds into the Credit Union.
• The introduction of negative interest charges by our banking providers on both our current and deposit accounts is now a significant cost to the Credit Union.
• The prevailing market conditions, with minimal rates of return on long term investments together with and the negative interest rate charges on short term deposits is severely impacting our ability to make an investment income return.
• There is a requirement to keep a minimum of 10% of our total assets including shares and deposits, in a regulatory reserve on an ongoing basis. This means for every €100,000 of additional savings, we must transfer €10,000 from our surplus income to our Regulatory Reserve as set out by the Central Bank of Ireland.

All the above impact greatly on our surplus funds at financial year end and therefore impact on the introduction of enhanced services for our Members and impact on the ability to return future dividend or loan interest rebate in coming years.  Therefore, it is important the Board of Directors take this action now.

Thank you for your understanding.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

 

• Can I lodge €2,000 to each of my shares, Christmas savings club and visual savings card per month?

No – the €2,000 monthly limit applies to all savings accounts combined.

 

• Can I lodge €2,000 over the counter to my savings account and €2,000 via electronic funds transfer?

No – it can be a combination of both, but cannot exceed €2,000 in total.

 

• What happens if I am already lodging more than €2,000 per month?

You will be asked to reduce the amount you are lodging.  If it comes in via EFT it will be returned to you.

 

• Can I lodge €2,000 per month into my single account and into my joint account?

No – it will be €2,000 in total either single or joint or combination of both.

 

• If I withdraw funds from my account during the month, can I then lodge again up to the €2,000 per month limit for example, can I lodge €2,000 per month and withdraw €500, can I lodge another €500?

No – €2,000 is the amount you can lodge regardless of how much you withdraw during the month.

 

• What happens if I send more than €2,000 per month to my savings account from my bank account via electronic funds transfer?

You will initially be contacted by a member of staff and funds will be returned.

 

• Can I lodge €2,000 to my own account and then €2,000 to my Child’s account?

No – there is also a cap of €200 per month on children’s accounts.

 

• What happens if I am paying my loan and saving and the amount exceeds €2,000 per month?

The €2,000 refers to savings only – there is no cap on loan repayments. 

We will shortly be introducing separate BIC and IBAN for share and loan accounts.

 

• Can I make loan repayments which exceed more than €2,000 per month?

Yes – no limit on loan repayments

 

• What if I am getting my pension or salary paid into the Credit Union and it exceeds €2,000 per month or if there is 5 weeks in a month?

Please contact a member of staff in the credit union who will advise you of same.