Following an application by the Central Bank of Ireland, the High Court on Sunday approved the transfer of Newbridge Credit Union to permanent tsb (ptsb), which has assumed ownership and management of the customer assets and liabilities of the credit union.  The Bank said  transfer was required due to the financial difficulties at Newbridge Credit Union and following a decision of Naas Credit Union not to proceed with its proposed combination with Newbridge. 

The transfer ensures members’ savings are protected and that no member has lost money.  All services, including deposit and lending facilities continue to be available to all members from the credit union premises which will open as normal Monday.   

The Central Bank said it has been seeking to address both financial and governance issues at Newbridge Credit Union since 2008, which ultimately led to the appointment of the Special Manager in January 2012. "Following a thorough assessment, and in the context of the existing legislation, it was determined that the only viable resolution of the financial difficulties was a transfer to another entity," the Central Bank said in a statement.

The Bank says the transfer to ptsb was ultimately the only viable solution available, with the alternative option being a full-scale immediate liquidation of the credit union with interruptions to the access of members to their funds and risks to depositors not covered by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme.  The transfer ensures that members can continue to access deposit and lending services within the local community and also ensures the protection of their savings up to €100,000 per person. 

In its last published accounts which were for 2010, the credit union had savings of €163m, loans of €140m and investments of €53m. In the intervening period, it has been hit by bad debts and a loss on investments.

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