Written answer
Credit Unions
The €100,000 credit union savings cap remains appropriate, though larger credit unions may seek Central Bank approval to exceed it.
363. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he supports the removal of the €100,000 savings limit per credit union which is contained in Regulation 35 of Statutory Instrument 1 of 2016. [64162/26]
Comment on this
Regulation 35 of the Credit Union Act 1997 (Regulatory Requirements) Regulations 2016 prescribes an individual member’s savings limit of €100,000 on all credit unions. The Central Bank makes this, and all of its regulations, independent of Government.
The Central Bank undertook a review of the continued appropriateness of the savings cap in 2019. This was informed by financial data extracted from the quarterly prudential returns submitted by the credit unions to the Central Bank and responses to a questionnaire issued to all credit unions in February 2019. The review concluded that the €100,000 individual member’s savings limit remained appropriate.
The rationale outlined by the Registrar of Credit Unions (in their letter to the previous Minister for Finance dated 29 July 2020, which is available on the Central Bank website) was that a maximum individual member’s savings limit of €100,000 helps to ensure the protection of members’ savings. It also ensures that credit unions’ funding continues to be sufficiently diversified and is not dependent on a small number of members.
The Central Bank also considered the potential negative financial stability impact on the sector in the event of any member losing a portion of their savings not covered by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme (which guarantees credit union deposits up to €100,000 per person).
As of 30 September 2025, the unaudited extract of data provided by the Central Bank confirms that the vast majority of credit union members hold savings below the €100,000 limit. The average amount of savings held in a credit union account is c. €5,000, with 97% of accounts holding savings of less than €30,000.
Furthermore, should a credit union wish to increase their individual member’s savings limit above this €100,000, they may do so by seeking approval in writing from the Central Bank under Regulation 37 of the Credit Union Act 1997 (Regulatory Requirements) Regulations 2016.
The Central Bank may grant approval for this request if the credit union has assets greater than €100 million and the Central Bank is satisfied that granting the approval is consistent with the protection of members' savings and proportionate with regard to the nature, scale and complexity of the credit union.