Brussels, 06/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 6 May, the European Commission decided to extend until 31 October 2015 an Irish scheme to restructure credit unions.
The objective of the scheme is to underpin the stability and long-term viability of credit unions and the credit union at large. Restructuring involves merging weaker and stronger credit unions, providing, if necessary, a capital injection to make up any shortfall in the capital reserve requirements of the merged credit union.
The scheme will have a budget of €250 million to support mergers, and a budget of €30 million to stabilise specific credit unions that will be funded via a bank sector levy.
The Commission considers that the Irish scheme complies with EU state aid rules because the credit unions contribute to the cost of restructuring. (Mathieu Bion)