Director

Cavan Credit Union, established in 1968, is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative based in Cavan Town, Ireland. With over 20,000 members, it offers a wide range of services including savings accounts, low-interest loans, current accounts, debit cards, insurance products, and online banking. Its mission is rooted in community support and financial inclusion, operating on the principle of “people helping people.”

Role Description

As a Director on the Board of Management, you will help shape the strategic direction of Cavan Credit Union, ensuring it operates in a sound, ethical, and sustainable manner in the best interests of its members. You will be expected to provide oversight, strategic leadership, and governance, and to ensure compliance with all relevant legislation and regulatory standards set by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Authority and Duties

The Board of Directors is responsible for the strategic direction of the credit union. It will perform general duties to ensure that a viable direction is planned and will adhere to the specific duties and responsibilities for the board and board committees as set out in the:

• Credit Union Act 1997 (as amended);
• Regulations to the Act;
• Directives of the Department of Finance
• Credit union’s registered rules;
• Policies of the credit union.

The Board will be responsible for the following general duties;

• Setting, monitoring and reviewing the credit union’s overall business strategy, objectives, and policies that provide for the needs of members, safeguard the assets of the credit union and meet regulatory requirements.
• Ensuring compliance with all requirements imposed on the credit union by or under the Credit Union Act 1997 (as amended) or any other financial service legislation.
• Promoting and implementing established governance protocols on an individual and collective basis.
• Directing the democratic process of the credit union, including the election of directors and the matter of board succession.
• Reviewing management succession plans.
• Delegating to committees of the board and receiving reports from those committees.
• Responding or causing responses to enquiries, requests or demands from regulatory agencies, auditors, members or other stakeholders.
• Ensuring regular and efficient communication with members.
• Ensuring that any major variances to budget are identified and that appropriate corrective measures are implemented.

Eligibility of a Director:

Cavan Credit Union Limited is governed by the Credit Union Act 1997 (as amended) and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, which sets out a series of eligibility criteria that all Directors must meet.

Eligibility Criteria

Only natural persons of full age may be a Director of the credit union.

The eligibility criteria also extend to the requirements of S50 of the Central Bank Reform Act, 2010, being the standards of fitness and probity for credit unions namely:

1.  Competence and Capability
2.  Honest, Ethical and Acting with Integrity; and
3.  Financial Soundness

Non-Eligibility

The following persons are not eligible to become a Director of the credit union:

• an employee or voluntary assistant of the credit union or an employee of any other credit union;
• a member of the board oversight committee of the credit union;
• a director of any other credit union;
• an employee of a representative body of which the credit union is a member, where that employee’s role could expose them to a potential conflict of interest;
• a public servant (within the meaning of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009) assigned to the Department of Finance and involved in advising the Minister on credit union issues or in the examination of credit union issues;
• a member of the Commission of the Bank;
• an officer (within the meaning of section 2 of the Central Bank Act 1942) or other employee of the Bank and who is involved in the regulation of credit unions;
• the Financial Services Ombudsman (within the meaning of section 2 of the Central Bank Act 1942) or a bureau staff member (within the meaning of section 57BA of that Act).
• a member of the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal or a member of its staff
• including the Registrar of the Appeals Tribunal appointed under section 57J of the Central Bank Act 1942);
• the chief executive of the National Consumer Agency, an authorised officer of that Agency (within the meaning of section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007) or any other member of its staff;
• the auditor of the credit union or a person employed or engaged by that auditor
• a solicitor or other professional adviser who has been engaged by or on behalf of the credit union within the previous 3 years;
• a person who is a spouse or civil partner, parent, sibling or child of a Director, Board Oversight Committee member or employee of that credit union.

Time Commitment:

Below is an estimate of the amount of time necessary to fulfil your role as a Director:

• Board Reports - 1 hour prior to meeting. Management Reports are generally provided a week in advance of the board meeting on Decision Time paperless meeting platform.
• Board Meetings - Board meetings can last about 1 to 2 hours. They take place usually the third Wednesday of the month at 7pm. The board of directors must hold at least six meetings in any year, and the interval between any  two meetings of the  board of directors shall not be greater than 10  weeks.
• Committee Meetings - Committee meetings can be held in the day or evenings and they can last 1 hour approximately. Committee meetings are generally quarterly and are held on zoom or in person.
• Training & Development - Directors are required to attend training sessions; This may involve evening and/or weekends. Induction training as provided by the Irish League of Credit Unions is mandatory in the first 6 months of joining. Annual anti-money laundering training is mandatory for all officers and this completed via eLearning. An Internal induction training pack is provided for new directors by the Nominations Committee.