Credit Union Savings Protection in Northern Ireland
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the United 
Kingdom's statutory fund of last resort for customers of authorised 
financial services firms. FSCS cover extends to members of credit 
unions in Great Britain (being FSA regulated entities). The FSCS 
does not currently apply to the savings of credit union members 
in Northern Ireland (being DETI (NI) and not FSA regulated 
entities).
The savings of members of credit unions in Northern Ireland which 
are affiliated to the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) may be 
protected by the ILCU’s Savings Protection Scheme (SPS) at the 
discretion of the Administration Committee of the ILCU Board. 
Currently the SPS fund stands at over £88 million. 
The SPS is owned and operated by the ILCU and is available to 
proactively intervene to protect members’ savings by making 
financial and other assistance available to participating credit unions 
which may experience difficulty. 
In the unlikely event that a credit union became insolvent, the SPS 
has a discretionary power to compensate each affected member up 
to a maximum of £10,000. No such claim for compensation has 
ever been made. Credit unions are proactive and are not content to 
solely rely on a deposit guarantee which only comes into play after 
collapse. Our own SPS fund, if required, can intervene early to 
stabilise a credit union allowing it trade out any difficulty thereby 
preventing collapse. 
The 103 credit unions in Northern Ireland which are affiliated to the 
ILCU have performed well this year with an average dividend of 3% 
on savings being paid to credit union members in Northern Ireland. 
Considering the unprecedented difficulties experienced worldwide in 
2008 by all financial institutions, this is a very creditable 
performance by ILCU credit unions in Northern Ireland.