Following Treasury Minister Eddie Teare's comments in the House of Keys yesterday, the Manx Credit Union Working Party is urging members of the Isle of Man Government to make the formation of a credit union a higher priority on the legislative timetable and give Isle of Man savers and borrowers a local and ethical alternative to the existing financial outlets already available.
 
Mr Teare said that while work was going on to review the necessary changes to legislation, it was "lower priority".  Chairman of the Manx Credit Union Working Party David Talbot commented that the sooner the legislation was updated, the sooner a credit union could be introduced. 
 
"We are currently hampered in moving forward by the lack of updated legislation and the fact that credit unions are not covered by the Isle of Man Depositors Compensation Scheme.   However we have already drafted potential new legislation and are engaging with the Financial Supervision Commission so changes could be made quite quickly if there is the political will to do so."
 
Credit unions are non-profit member-owned community organisations typically offering savings accounts and small loans from pooled deposits. Interest rates are usually more favourable than other providers as there are no external shareholders to pay and any surplus is invested back into the credit union’s services. 
 
"Credit unions offer a real alternative to people who may otherwise consider payday loans, or credit card and catalogue debt.  They also encourage the savings habit and keep money in the local economy," said Mr Talbot.
 
Anyone interested in supporting a Manx Credit Union is asked to complete an "Expression of Interest" form which can be found on the group's website www.mcu.im or by calling 619459.  There is also a facebook page (www.facebook.com/ManxCreditUnion) and members of the Working Party will be on hand to answer questions at the Strand Shopping Centre on Saturday 28th June.