Headline: Time for Government to take meaningful action
“Credit Unions have a vital role to play in providing financial services and options to consumers. In particular, as not-for-profit membership-owned organisations, they have a big role to play in providing an alternative to loan sharks and other predatory lenders” said Carol Beaumont MP, Labour’s consumer rights and standards spokesperson.
“Credit Unions have raised with all political parties concerns they have about barriers to their growth. In New Zealand Credit Unions are disadvantaged both by outdated laws and being unnecessarily captured by regulation that has been in response to poor performance elsewhere among financial institutions.”
“Labour has publicly committed to making changes to remove unnecessary barriers to the growth of Credit Unions including giving Credit Unions legal status and removing the dual trustee requirements; removing unnecessary regulation; and allowing Credit Unions to lend to small businesses” Carol Beaumont says.
“A National MP, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, has announced he would try to deal with one of these matters via the Members Bill process. Unfortunately for the Credit Union movement Mr Lotu-Iiga has been unable to obtain the support of his party to deal with this matter as a Government Bill and has instead resorted to enter into a lottery process.”
“Labour is also aware of, and supportive of, a number of other issued raised by Credit Unions and will continue working with Credit Unions to determine appropriate regulation of Credit Unions. We would make these changes as a matter of priority when we are in Government” said Carol Beaumont.
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