The Joint Select Committee on Finance and Legal Affairs held an enquiry on Friday into the supervisory and prudential oversight of credit unions, to determine whether current legislation and the regulatory framework are adequately protecting the interests of their members.
Ministry of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development, Natalie Willis, assured the public that the Ministry remains committed to improving governance in the sector.
With a membership of over half a million, she noted that a strong regulatory framework is essential to maintain financial integrity and public confidence in credit unions across the country.
“The corporate sector of Trinidad and Tobago possesses assets of over TT$20 billion, with a membership of over 700,000 citizens. However, it is recognised that a number of issues in the wider governance framework need to be addressed. For instance, the legislative framework governing cooperatives and credit unions needs to be organised to ensure international best practice, enhance regulatory oversight and provide a more enabling environment.”
Commissioner for Co-operative Development from the Ministry of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development, Charmaine Mc Millian, called for the establishment of an inspection team to reduce the resource constraints the Ministry often experiences when working with credit unions.
“Although it is stipulated in the Act that there could be fines for breaches of the act, the by-laws and so on, but those charges — which are about two thousand dollars — are minuscule in terms of, I don’t want to say crime, but the shortfalls in terms of operations or going against the written policies or by-laws.”