THE CENTRAL BANK AND THE CREDIT UNIONS

File photo when the then Central Bank Governor  Wendy Craigg announced on 10 June 2015 that the Central Bank was to regulate credit unions.

The eight Credit Unions in The Bahamas with a combined 350 million or so of assets under their control, are having an issue with the supervision of the Central Bank.  The Bahamas decided that they would transfer the supervision of credit unions established under the cooperatives legislation to the Central Bank, to satisfy the demands of the Europeans and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that loose money was not being passed around without the developed world being able to monitor the funds.  The Central Bank has since that time been trying to dissolve the credit unions, the eight of them and make them one.  That is a nonstarter for the credit union movement.  These credit unions were started with the funds of ordinary workers at various establishments and they are run well.  There is no need to consolidate them. But as we see how badly the Central Bank allows consumers in banks to be treated in this country, so they are now attacking the credit unions.  The PLP should not allow this to happen.