CUCC Events

Upcoming Events

This section provides details on upcoming CUCC events such as Quarterly Working Groups, Regional Clinics and the Annual Conference.

Please note that most CUCC events are for subscribing credit unions only; any public events open to all credit unions in the list below will be clearly marked as such.

Event Details

CUCC ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2017

A STRATEGIC FOCUS IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

Date: Tuesday, 3rd October 2017

Venue: Croke Park, Dublin

The theme this year’s CUCC Annual Conference was “A Strategic Focus in a Changing Environment”. We had a number of excellent speakers on the day.

Presentations

LEONARD MCAULIFFE - KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

LEONARD MCAULIFFE – KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Factor	Description	Ranking
Credit Union Mergers and the Common Bond	Short-term While the level of mergers between credit unions has remained low (9 in the last 12 months according to PRA figures), it is possible that this number will increase over the course of 2017 / 2018. Urbanisation impacting on rural common bonds means some credit unions are losing-out on potential members. Credit unions may find opportunities to expand into under-serviced common bonds through the merger process.	10 –
Credit Union Mergers and the Common Bond	Long-term As for Q2, smaller standalone credit unions may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage if operating a common bond over-lapping with larger neighbouring credit unions created through a merger process. Where credit union members satisfy multiple common bonds, high-calibre potential borrowers are likely to gravitate to the larger credit unions with a wider range of services, higher levels of convenience and more competitive rates.	10 –

Factor	Description	Ranking
Social changes & consumer preferences	Short-term As previously indicated, millennials & generation Y present a key challenge for credit unions in how to become relevant to these consumer segments by delivering suitable products and services. The credit union strategy should consider the investment the main banks have undertaken and are continuing to undertake in developing their communication / advertisement channels on social media and also in their development of internet based loan application processes.	8 –
Social changes & consumer preferences	Long-term Millennials and generation Y have arrived as the core borrowing demographic of credit unions. Credit unions must attract this segment in delivering basic, convenient suitable products and services. This is a business priority in many credit unions. Failure to capture significant market share within these demographics will be harshly felt in credit unions finance in the long-term.	8 –

Factor	Description	Ranking
Competition in Financial Services	Short-term While credit union loans are up 4% year on year, loans to assets ratio is down due to the faster growth in savings. The high street pillar banks have indicated their intentions to target the credit union personal loan market and they have the resources to ensure quick loan decision turnaround times. They are investing heavily in high convenience service delivery and better relationship management for customers. They have the resources to ensure quick loan decision turnaround times in addition to competitive interest rates. The competition from the PCP market from car manufacturers / dealerships area continues to be of concern to credit union although credit unions are making good comparisons recently between credit union loans and PCP finance from car brands.	7 –
Competition in Financial Services	Long-term The introduction of more FinTech companies into the financial services market will result in increased competition in the lending and secondary financial services market for credit unions. High tech, low cost base and strategically agile – FinTech companies could pose stiff competition to traditional financial services institutions. Current and potential members who have established long-term borrowing relationships with their banks (driven by effective relationship management and key product availability) will be difficult to bring back to the credit union.	7 –

Factor	Description	Ranking
Economy	Short-term According to Dankse Bank’s quarterly report there is growing evidence that the Brexit uncertainty in conjunction with the political uncertainty referenced previously, is affecting consumer confidence. Rising inflation is also having a negative impact on consumer confidence. Commenting on the latest release of the index, Danske Bank Economist Conor Lambe, said: “Inflation in the UK has now reached there per cent, and we are forecasting that it will average around 2.7 per cent in 2017 and 2018. As a result, household purchasing power is likely to remain under some pressure. The squeeze on consumers is still, very much, a key factor in the outlook for the UK and Northern Ireland economies.” Economic growth has been mixed during 2017 – the weak sterling at present has provided a boost to total exports which would indicate an expectation that economic growth will become more balanced where it not for the Brexit uncertainties that remain.	6 –
Economy	Long-term The long term economic outlook remains unclear and will depend a lot on the Brexit negotiations and also the political situation in Northern Ireland. There is evidence that some businesses have reduced capital spending and are therefore reluctant to invest until the Brexit outcomes are a lot clearer. With the Brexit negotiations ongoing which may become contentious and protracted the long term economic outlook remains very uncertain and volatile. “The forecast slowdown in overall UK growth in 2018 is attributable to an overall downturn in business investment driven by continued uncertainty surrounding the negotiations to leave the EU. We also expect a softening of jobs growth and a squeeze on real household spending power from rising inflation, which could reach around 3% in 2018” David Armstrong, PWC Partner in Northern Ireland.	6 –

Factor	Description	Ranking
Brexit	Short-term The fourth round of negotiations took place in September and there are still major challenges to overcome. A position paper on Northern Ireland’s unique position was issued by the UK government in August which focused on the need to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland and proposals around custom tariffs for small – medium sized business. The coming months are crucial for the negotiations and potential outcomes for both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The longer the period of uncertainty remains, the more volatility Northern Ireland will experience in currency markets, investment, trade and confidence. The nature of any border with the Republic of Ireland remains of significant concern. For both north and south of Ireland, the harder the Brexit, the bigger the risks.	5 –
Brexit	Long-term It is very difficult to predict the long-term implications of Brexit for Northern Ireland. The negotiations that will take place over the coming months will hopefully give some insight into the long term impacts for the region. There are still significant challenges to overcome in the negotiations and with 25k – 30k commuters crossing the border there are big implications for all involved.	5 –

Upcoming Events

Event Details

Presentations

LEONARD MCAULIFFE - KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

ANTHONY CAHALAN - THE FUTURE OF AML/CFT

NIAMH BRENNAN - GOVERNANCE RESPONSIBILITIES IN DRIVING CHANGE

ADRIAN WECKLER - TECHNOLOGY & STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS

GERRY DUFFY - LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Event Details

Presentations

PROFESSOR BRIAN LUCEY - OPENING ADDRESS

DR. SIMON ASHBY - PLYMOUTH BUSINESS SCHOOL

DR. MARGARET CULLEN - INSTITUTE OF BANKING

PAMELA ROGERS - ALVAREZ & MARSAL

JOANN C. STONIER - MASTERCARD

GAVIN FLOOD - MR GREEN

BRYAN HONAN - BH CONSULTING

Event Details

Presentations

BRIAN HAYES – MOORE STEPHENS NATHANS

PROFESSOR DONAL MCKILLOP – QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST

DR. JYN SCHULTZE-MELLING – FACEBOOK

BRENDAN NAGLE – DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

PROFESSOR BLANAID CLARKE – TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN

DENISE FARNSWORTH – MICROSOFT IRELAND

GER DEERING – FINANCIAL SERVICES OMBUDSMAN

Photo Gallery

CUCC Conference 2016

CUCC Conference 2015