@Brendan
The SPS is not seperate from ILCU's business operations or its accounts. This has been a long standing concern not only of the financial regulator (which has no role in regulating ILCU or its SPS) but also experts who have advised ILCU for years to seperate the fund from its normal activities. It refused to do this as (a) it would become regulated and (b) for taxation reasons.
The SPS losses are €48m comprising guarantees of €9.8m to four credit unions in 2009 and "constructive committments" resulting in expected cash flows of €38.5m to another nine in 2010. There are another seven that are rumoured to amount to another €40m in committments in the pipeline. ILCU is also providing stand by liquidity facilties of another €9.5m to three credit unions.
On top of this investment losses on the fund were €5.5m last year with futher losses incurred since accounting year end.
The uncommitted fund after accounting for guarantess, committments is listed in the accounts at €73.8m. Subtract from this the €40m additional committments, €9.5m liquidity lines and the balance becomes €24.3m before accounting for investment losses. That's €24.3m left uncomittted to support its 500 credit union members here and in the North - 23 have already soaked up €97.7m of the fund
All told ILCU's SPS has become a busted flush -which has been a long predicted probability under stressed scenarios.
There is no stablisation fund for non-members of ILCU of which there are about 15 credit unions including members of CUDA.
The good news if it can be called that is the draft bank resolution bill includes for a resolution fund and credit union participation. The fund would work as a statutory stablisation system for credit unions something long argued for.