All credit unions in the UK are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (the PRA) and regulated by both the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority.
The oversight of these two bodies, underpinned by the law, is designed to ensure that we, like all credit unions and other types of UK financial institutions, conduct our business in a way that is honest, fair and compliant with the law.
The PRA's role is specifically focused on promoting 'safety and soundness'. This involves ensuring that we handle our members' money responsibly and that we are run in a way that minimises the risk of the credit union falling into financial difficulty and going out of business.
The FCA's role focuses on protecting consumers, keeping the UK financial industry stable, and promoting healthy competition. This involves ensuring that the credit union treats customers fairly, that senior managers and directors are suitable for their roles, and that we fulfil the law in areas such as fighting financial crime and money laundering. The FCA also maintains the FCA Register, which is a record of all authorised financial firms and their key staff.
In addition to being subject to FCA/PRA oversight, all credit unions in the UK are also part of the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). the FSCS is a government-backed scheme which protects individual savers in the event that a financial institution they have deposited in gets into financial difficulty. Under the FSCS, most deposits made by individuals, up to a value of £85,000 are protected. Learn more about the FSCS.