Savings

Enfield credit union is affiliated to the Irish League of Credit Unions and are members of the Savings Protection Scheme. Also member's savings are insured through the life Savings Insurance (subject to terms and conditions) and through the Governements Deposit Guarantee Scheme up to €100,000.

Every share you hold with Enfield Credit Union for the year is eligible for a dividend when declared. A dividend is the return on your shares and it is paid by the credit union out of surplus.(Note:Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance). The amount of your dividend will depend on:

• The amount of shares you have saved.
• The surplus income available for distribution by Enfield Credit Union to its members.

Member of a credit union are united by a common bond. This is the characteristic that every member has in common. Enfield Credit Unions common bond is community based - where all members live or work within the postal address of Enfield. Anyone within the common bond is eligible to apply for membership, and start saving as soon as they are accepted.

Board of Enfield Credit Union has taken the difficult decision to limit the savings a member may have in their account to €40,000 per member effective from 1^st January 2021. Cash deposits made to the credit union have increased significantly in recent years resulting in serious knock-on implications for the credit union. This significant growth in shares severely impacts the credit union’s ability to maintain the regulatory reserve requirement set out by the Central Bank of Ireland which is a minimum of 10% of total assets of the credit union.

This means that for every increase of €100,000 in savings, we must allocate an additional €10,000 from our surplus to our Capital Reserves. This in turn reduces the amount available to pay a dividend at year end and roll out new services to members.

We also face the challenge of a low interest rate environment which greatly reduces the investment income that Enfield Credit Union earns on deposits/investments with other financial institutions. Due to the high level of on demand savings held by Enfield Credit Union, over €30 million of excess funds must be placed in deposits/investments on which we are receiving very low to zero return. In fact, financial institutions are now applying negative interest rates on credit union funds held which in turn further impacts our ability to generate a surplus.

What is the savings cap?

From the 1^st January 2021 Enfield Credit Union will have a savings cap of €40,000 per member. This means each member can only have €40,000 in savings with the credit union.

What about members with savings above €40,000?

Members with savings above €40,000 do not have to take any action at this time. They will not be allowed to make further lodgements to their saving unless their balance falls below €40,000. If a member withdraws savings, they will not be allowed to relodge those savings unless their balance remains at or below €40,000.

Enfield Credit Union may require members with savings in excess of the cap to withdraw the excess savings at some point in the future.

What about members with savings below €40,000?

Members with savings of less than €40,000 may increase their savings to a maximum of €40,000.

How long will the cap remain in place?

The Board of Enfield Credit Union will keep the savings cap under constant review. If there is likely to be a change to the current cap members will be informed.

Does this mean the credit union is in difficulty?

No, Enfield Credit Union is adequately capitalised at over 14% - well above the minimum 10%. The cap has been introduced to protect our current position and ensure that the credit union can continue to maintain adequate reserves, continue to provide excellent service to our members and enhance those services to meet members future requirements.

Enfield Credit Union is owned by people like you - the members who save with and borrow from it. Its the money that members save with their credit union that provides the money to lend to other members at a fair and reasonable rate. So everybody benefits because any surplus that is generated is returned to members as a dividend or loan interest rebate. Alternatively the surplus can be used to enhance other services.