Member Update

Dear Member,

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Board Oversight Committee, Management and Staff we are writing to update you on a number of items that are affecting Portarlington Credit Union and our members.

Covid 19

We at Portarlington Credit Union are very aware that Covid 19 continues to have a major impact on all our lives and on our wider community. As an essential service, we have remained open throughout the pandemic and we continue to offer our normal range of Member Services. For the protection of both staff and members, we continue to take the necessary health and safety precautions in our office and continue to encourage our members to use our online facilities and make payments over the telephone using their debit card.

2020 AGM

Due to the Covid 19 public health restrictions regarding events/gatherings, it is not possible for us to hold our AGM in December this year. Current Credit Union legislation only permits the hosting of physical AGMs. We are awaiting the necessary legislative changes required to be passed by the Oireachtas which will allow more flexibility in how AGMs are held e.g. traditional AGMs where members are physically present, virtual AGMs or a combination of both. Once these changes are made, we will inform you of a suitable date and how we intend to deliver the AGM. This is likely to be in March/April 2021 but will be dependent on the public health restrictions in place at that time. When we are in a position to hold our AGM, we will circulate our audited accounts. You will see from them that the results for 2019/2020 are very positive. This of course is due to the loyalty shown by our members throughout this difficult year.

Dividends & Rabate

espite the circumstances of this very challenging year, we have had a very positive financial performance and we have a strong business plan for 2021 and beyond. The Central Bank of Ireland, our regulatory body, has advised that financial institutions should not pay a dividend or interest rebate this year due to the uncertain nature of the economy due to Covid 19 and Brexit. The Board of Directors have decided to follow these guidelines to ensure that our reserves remain strong. Therefore, they will not be proposing the payment of a dividend or interest rebate this year. We believe that the security of our members’ savings and the financial stability of our Credit Union are of paramount importance. We look forward to resuming the payment of a dividend and interest rebate at the end of next year when we hope that normality will have resumed in all our lives.

On behalf of the board of directors and management and staff, we hope you stay safe and healthy and would like to wish you and yours a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.

Should you have any questions or queries, please do call us on 057 8623336 or email mail@portcu.ie.

Kind regards,

Liam Kirwan

Chairman

Michael McEvoy

CEO