There are savings of 80 million euro in the two Connemara based Credit Unions
The figures are detailed in the financial report at the Annual General Meetings in Clifden and Cois Fharraige
The Connemara Credit Union has its head offices in Clifden and it has 7,000 active members.
Comhar Creidmheasa Cholmcille has its head offices in Indreabhán, and it serves 9,000 members in south Connemara.
The Colmcille Credit Union has €50.9m in savings and the Clifden based Connemara Credit Union, which operates in the area west of Maam Cross, has €29m. in savings.
The figures sound remarkable to those who were involved with Credit Unions in Connemara in years past, when it was some times a struggle to meet the requests for loans.
Nowadays the total loans from both Credit Unions stands at €30m – that is a little more than one third of the money that is saved.
One explanation points to the efficiency and accessibility of the Credit Union branches and staff, compared to other financial institutions
However, the increased savings and the reduced demand for loans leads to a conclusion that money is more plentiful than it used to be.
