For reasons set out below, the board of directors of Wicklow and District Credit Union Ltd has reluctantly decided to limit the amount that an individual member can lodge into savings each month to an aggregate amount of €2500 the maximum annual lodgement will be €20,000 (excluding loan repayments). This limit will take effect from 1st October 2017 and will be reviewed periodically by the board thereafter. The total balance a member may hold across all savings balances from 1st January 2021 is €50,000.
The reasons for imposing the limit are as follows:
- Savings in Wicklow and District Credit Union are growing rapidly, resulting in an increasing amount of excess funds in the credit union.
- We have to invest these excess funds in a limited range of investment products, primarily bank deposit accounts. As you may know, bank interest rates are barely above 0% and in some cases are negative.
- In addition, credit unions have to put aside additional capital from their income in respect of the amount of savings held – this reduces the amount available to decrease loan interest rates, pay dividends and invest in new and better services for members.
- We expect that the €2,500 monthly limit will reduce the inflows of savings to a more acceptable and prudent level.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this decision but hope that you understand the rationale for it.
If you have any queries, please speak to a member of our staff.
