Consultation on Local Community Banking
The Programme for a Partnership Government commits the Department of arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to thoroughly investigate the German Sparkassen model for the development of local public banks that operate within well-defined regions. It also calls for the investigation of a new model of community banking that could provide a suite of banking services through the Post Office Network, such as the Kiwibank model in New Zealand, where the Post Office-owned bank provides a comprehensive suite of financial services, from personal loans and bank accounts to credit cards, business banking, and insurance.
The Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, and the Department of Finance are seeking the views of interested parties on the relevance of such models within an Irish context.
The consultation period runs from 2 March 2017 for 4 weeks. Responses can be returned to Laure Garcia (laure.garcia@ahg.gov.ie), or posted to: Post Office Network & Broadband Implementation Unit, 7 Ely Place, Dublin 2, D02TW98, no later than 29 March 2017.
All submissions received are now available to view below.
Submission by Rural Independent Group