To ask the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what representations she has made, or intends to make, to Treasury regarding the concerns of credit unions about the proposals to restrict the majority of their investments to one year maturity.

Following the joint HM Treasury and FSA consultation exercise on future regulation policy in relation to NI credit unions, I wrote to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (FST) in November 2011, setting out a number of concerns with the proposals within the document. One of these related to the twelve month limit on investment periods for those credit unions which will transfer as ‘version 1’ on 31 March 2012 and which will comprise the majority of transferees. The letter was copied to the Chief Executive of the Financial Services Authority for his observations. As a result of my intervention, in its December 2011 policy response to the consultation, FSA announced a policy change in respect of several issues, including a one year transitional easement for investment limits following the transfer date of 31 March 2012.

However, from my contact with the trade bodies as well as correspondence received from individual credit unions, I am aware that there is considerable disappointment that the policy easement remains as an interim, transitional measure. In view of this, I have again written to the FST and the FSA on 1 February 2012, outlining the detrimental effect this policy will continue to have on credit unions here and requested that this issue be reviewed.