As credit unions creep slowly towards oversight by the central bank, which is now expected to take effect in July, the movement’s umbrella group that acted as watchdog is trying to carve out a new direction for itself as a kind of consultant to the community banks.

Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League Limited, JCCUL, has already begun the process of restructuring the group, and is shuffling around staff while looking for new talent, following a retreat last summer that sought to map its new course after 77 years as the overseer of, to now, the self-regulated sector.

At the meeting that included various sector interests, “we took the decision that the League needs a change in strategic direction as we see to extract more value from our activities on behalf of our members in a Bank of Jamaica-regulated environment,” said JCCUL General Manager Robin Levy on Thursday.

“We are looking to act in a consultative capacity rather than the regulatory role we’ve played for the last 70-odd years. Our membership will need that guidance as they seek to be compliant with the new requirements,” Levy said.

Bank of Jamaica is taking charge of a sector which has contracted to 25 players, from around 43, as credit unions merged to satisfy the central bank’s more stringent requirements for capital adequacy. The sector, which has about one million members, is currently valued at $113 billion by assets, and holds $87 billion of savings on behalf of members.

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