With the introduction of the Australian Government Guarantee Scheme, all deposits at Northern Inland Credit Union under $1 million are automatically guaranteed for 36 months from 28 November 2008. Members who have deposits greater than the
$1 million cap can opt to pay a fee to the Australian Government to have the amount over the cap guaranteed. Click here to view the Australian Government Deposit Guarantee Certificate. The last day you can apply for a guarantee for the amount over the cap is 24 March 2010.
Northern Inland is regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority and has to meet the same strict legally enforceable regulatory standards applied to all Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions, such as banks, building societies and other credit unions. Being a mutual, all our loans are funded from retail deposits, not the volatile wholesale market and we do not need to engage in risky investment practices to ensure high returns for shareholders. Our policies do not allow us to invest in CDOs (Collateralised Debit Obligations) or CDSs (Credit Default Swaps).
We have retained our prudent lending criteria to ensure we focus on only quality borrowers. We have not lowered our credit standards. Consequently, our level of bad debts is one of the lowest in the industry.
Northern Inland is a local institution, with a well-developed and sound knowledge of our market and strong relationships with our Members. We have also implemented conservative and proven business practices to manage the provision of Member services. The oversight we receive from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority has strengthened our already sound business model administered by our Board of Directors and senior management, and we believe this puts us in a firm position relative to some other market participants.
As a strongly regulated mutual, Northern Inland is safe and competitive with a range of savings, term deposits and loan products.