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Legal Determinants of Accountability of Credit Union Members

Received: 8 November 2021    Accepted: 8 January 2022    Published: 28 January 2022
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Abstract

The financial crisis of 2007-2009 has triggered the development of legal solutions aimed at reducing economic turmoil by, in particular, increasing the responsibility of shareholders of financial institutions for the failure of the latter. The solutions in question include, inter alia, procedures of forced restructuring of financial institutions and establishment of the level of the so-called MREL for them. Counted among these institutions are also credit unions, the legal situation of which entities shows a number of peculiarities. They operate not for profit, have a highly dispersed ownership structure and limited opportunities to raise capital and, above all, members of the credit union as a cooperative society play a dual role in it - both that of shareholders and one of service users (consumers). The Polish lawgiver has made national credit unions subject to the rules of forced restructuring and MREL despite their exclusion from the European law regulations in force in that respect and placed them within as many as two separate legal regimes under which the solutions can potentially be applied. The aim of the paper is to consider whether - taking into account the legal structure of Polish credit unions - the solutions adopted under the aforementioned regimes may actually serve to increase the responsibility of credit union members for the institutions they co-own, and looking in a broader perspective - whether and to what extent they can generally contribute to successful operation of credit unions. In pursuit of the goal, attempts were made to combine dogmatic research (with the employment of the verbal logic method) with an analysis of the functions of the legal norms aimed at achieving the desired economic effects, taking into account the values the credit unions adhere to - on a global scale - as cooperatives run "not for profit, not for charity, but to serve”, as their motto reads. Thanks to the considerations done it was ascertained that burdening Polish credit unions with MREL requirements has been, in fact, an inappropriate solution, inadequate both to the structure of their ownership funds and the goals for which these requirements were established, since the goals include, at the outmost, protection of union members as consumers, and not burdening them - as small shareholders – with the risk of the business conducted by the members to satisfy their own needs.

Published in International Journal of Science, Technology and Society (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijsts.20221001.12
Page(s) 8-14
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cooperative Savings and Credit Union, Resolution, MREL, Consumer, Cooperative

References
[1] Damian Cyman (2016). Kierunki zmian ochrony konsumenta usług finansowych w Unii Europejskiej [Directions of Changes of Consumer Protection in Financial Services], Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Sklodowska Lublin-Polonia, vol. L, 4, SectioH, pp. 39-41.
[2] For a broader discussion see: J. Kruczalak-Jankowska (2019). Ewolucja regulacji prawnych restrukturyzacji i upadłości spółdzielczej kasy oszczędnościowo-kredytowej [The Evolution of Legal Regulations on the Restructuring and Bankruptcy of a Cooperative Savings and Credit Union] (in:) P. Zakrzewski and D. Bierecki (eds.) Prawo prywatne w służbie społeczeństwu. Księga pamiątkowa poświęcona pamięci Profesora Adama Jedlińskiego [Private Law in the Service of Society. Commemorative Volume in Honour of Professor Adam Jedliński], Sopot, p. 167.
[3] See: D. Duda (2018). Przejęcie spółdzielczej kasy oszczędnościowo-kredytowej na podstawie decyzji administracyjnej Komisji Nadzoru Finansowego [Takeover of Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions under an Administrative Decision of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority], Prawo i Więź 2018 (23), pp. 50-61.
[4] Regarding the legal nature of the acquisition of a cooperative savings and credit union as a measure applied by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, see: Grzegorz Kozieł (2018), Zasady przysługiwania praw i obowiązków spółdzielni podmiotom prawa, będącym w formie docelowej jej transformacji a potrzeba udoskonalenia regulacji prawnej w tym obszarze [The Principles of Vesting the Rights and Obligations of a Cooperative in Legal Entities Being the Target Form of Its Transformation and the Need to Improve the Legal Regulations in This Area], Prawo i Więź, VII (23), p. 29.
[5] More broadly, viz.: J. Mędrzecka (2019). Łączenie się spółdzielczych kas oszczędnościowo-kredytowych a restrukturyzacja i uporządkowana restrukturyzacja kas [Merger of Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions and the Restructuring and Resolution of the Latter] (in:) P. Zakrzewski and D. Bierecki (eds.) Prawo prywatne w służbie społeczeństwu. Księga pamiątkowa poświęcona pamięci Profesora Adama Jedlińskiego [Private Law in the Service of Society. Commemorative Volume in Honour of Professor Adam Jedliński], Sopot, p. 188.
[6] In the Lithuanian legal system, the deposits pooled in credit unions, while being covered by public guarantees, are not subject to orderly resolution on terms applicable to banks – for a broader discussion see: Eugeniusz Gostomski, Błażej Lepczyński (2018), Analiza porównawcza unii kredytowych w państwach bałtyckich [A Comparative Analysis of Credit Unions in the Baltic States], Annales Uniwersitatis Mariae Curie-Sklodowska Lublin – Polonia vol. LII, 3, p. 17-19.
[7] Gabriela Golawska-Witkowska (2015) (in:) Gabriela Golawska-Witkowska, Ewa Mazurek-Krasodomska, Anna Rzeczycka, Transformacja systemów bankowych w wybranych krajach bałtyckich [The Transformation of Banking Systems in Selected Baltic States], Gdańsk, p. 50.
[8] M. Pawełczyk, P. Sokal (2013), Status członka kas w świetle nowej ustawy o spółdzielczych kasach oszczędnościowo-kredytowych [The Status of a Credit Union Member in the Light of the New Act on Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions], Monitor Prawa Bankowego, 2013 (6), pp. 98-111.
[9] M. Medyński, P. Zimmerman (2017), Ustawa o Bankowym Funduszu Gwarancyjnym, systemie gwarantowania depozytów oraz przymusowej restrukturyzacji – wielkie zmiany i ich przyczyny [The Act on the Bank Guarantee Fund, the Deposit Guarantee Fund and Resolution – Great Changes and the Reasons Thereof], Monitor Prawa Bankowego 2017 (2), pp. 86-108.
[10] See: J. Skoczek (2019). Źródła obowiązku dopłat z tytułu dodatkowej odpowiedzialności członkowskiej [Sources of the Obligation to Make Payments under the Additional Membership Liability Scheme] (in:) P. Zakrzewski and D. Bierecki (eds.) Prawo prywatne w służbie społeczeństwu. Księga pamiątkowa poświęcona pamięci Profesora Adama Jedlińskiego [Private Law in the Service of Society. Commemorative Volume in Honour of Professor Adam Jedliński], Sopot, pp. 279-292.
[11] M. Możdżeń (2017). In: A. Witosz (ed.) Prawo upadłościowe. Komentarz [Bankruptcy Law. A Commentary], Warszawa 2017, pp. 1051-1052. R. Adamus (2018), Czy syndyk spółdzielczej kasy oszczędnościowo-kredytowej może dochodzić od członków kasy uzupełnienia straty bilansowej? [Can the Receiver of a Cooperative Savings and Credit Union Claim from the Credit Union Members to Make Up for the Balance Sheet Loss?], Doradca Restrukturyzacyjny, 2018 (3), pp. 26-35.
[12] R. Adamus (2020). Zagadnienie odpowiedzialności za straty bilansowe członków spółdzielczej kasy oszczędnościowo-kredytowej w upadłości [The Issue of Liability for Balance Sheet Losses of Members of a Credit Union in Bankruptcy] (in:) P. Zakrzewski and D. Bierecki (eds.) Prawo prywatne w służbie społeczeństwu. Księga pamiątkowa poświęcona pamięci Profesora Adama Jedlińskiego [Private Law in the Service of Society. Commemorative Volume in Honour of Professor Adam Jedliński], Sopot, pp. 23-44.
[13] More broadly: K. Pietrzykowski (2019). Nowa formuła stosunku członkostwa w spółdzielni mieszkaniowej [A New Formula for Member Relationship of a Housing Cooperative] (in:) P. Zakrzewski and D. Bierecki (eds.) Prawo prywatne w służbie społeczeństwu. Księga pamiątkowa poświęcona pamięci Profesora Adama Jedlińskiego [Private Law in the Service of Society. Commemorative Volume in Honour of Professor Adam Jedliński], Sopot, pp. 268-278.
[14] K. Pietrzykowski (2020). Członkostwo w spółdzielni – wybrane aspekty [Membership in a Cooperative – Selected Aspects], Studia Prawa Prywatnego im. Prof. Zbigniewa Radwańskiego, No. 2 (57), p. 31.
[15] D. Bierecki (2021). Zasada swobody umów w prawie spółdzielczym [The Principle of Freedom of Contract in Cooperative Law], Warszawa, pp. 72-76.
[16] P. Zakrzewski (2014) (in:) A. Herbet, S. Pawłowski, P. Zakrzewski, Spółdzielcze kasy oszczędnościowo-kredytowe. Komentarz [Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions. A Commentary], Warszawa, p. 18.
[17] M. Jedlińska (2020), Członkostwo w spółdzielczej kasie oszczędnościowo-kredytowej [Membership in a Cooperative Savings and Credit Union] (in:) K. Pietrzykowski (ed.) Prawo spółdzielcze [The Cooperative Law], Warszawa, pp. 947-957.
[18] Anna Maria Jurkowska-Zeidler (2018). Aktualne problemy ochrony klienta na rynku bankowym z perspektywy działalności rzecznika finansowego [Current Problems of Customer Protection on the Banking Market from the Perspective of the Activities of the Financial Ombudsman], Gdańskie Studia Prawnicze, vol. XXXIX, pp. 29-30.
[19] For a broader discussion see: D. Bierecki (2013). Członkostwo w spółdzielczej kasie oszczędnościowo-kredytowej [Membership in a Cooperative Savings and Credit Union], Sopot, pp. 29-38.
[20] Piotr Zakrzewski (2017). Stan aktualny i perspektywy rozwoju polskiego prawa spółdzielczego [The Current State and Prospects for the Development of the Polish Cooperative Law], Rocznik Nauk Prawnych, vol. XXVII (4).
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    Joanna Maria Mędrzecka. (2022). Legal Determinants of Accountability of Credit Union Members. International Journal of Science, Technology and Society, 10(1), 8-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20221001.12

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    Joanna Maria Mędrzecka. Legal Determinants of Accountability of Credit Union Members. Int. J. Sci. Technol. Soc. 2022, 10(1), 8-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsts.20221001.12

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    Joanna Maria Mędrzecka. Legal Determinants of Accountability of Credit Union Members. Int J Sci Technol Soc. 2022;10(1):8-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsts.20221001.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsts.20221001.12,
      author = {Joanna Maria Mędrzecka},
      title = {Legal Determinants of Accountability of Credit Union Members},
      journal = {International Journal of Science, Technology and Society},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {8-14},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsts.20221001.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20221001.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsts.20221001.12},
      abstract = {The financial crisis of 2007-2009 has triggered the development of legal solutions aimed at reducing economic turmoil by, in particular, increasing the responsibility of shareholders of financial institutions for the failure of the latter. The solutions in question include, inter alia, procedures of forced restructuring of financial institutions and establishment of the level of the so-called MREL for them. Counted among these institutions are also credit unions, the legal situation of which entities shows a number of peculiarities. They operate not for profit, have a highly dispersed ownership structure and limited opportunities to raise capital and, above all, members of the credit union as a cooperative society play a dual role in it - both that of shareholders and one of service users (consumers). The Polish lawgiver has made national credit unions subject to the rules of forced restructuring and MREL despite their exclusion from the European law regulations in force in that respect and placed them within as many as two separate legal regimes under which the solutions can potentially be applied. The aim of the paper is to consider whether - taking into account the legal structure of Polish credit unions - the solutions adopted under the aforementioned regimes may actually serve to increase the responsibility of credit union members for the institutions they co-own, and looking in a broader perspective - whether and to what extent they can generally contribute to successful operation of credit unions. In pursuit of the goal, attempts were made to combine dogmatic research (with the employment of the verbal logic method) with an analysis of the functions of the legal norms aimed at achieving the desired economic effects, taking into account the values the credit unions adhere to - on a global scale - as cooperatives run "not for profit, not for charity, but to serve”, as their motto reads. Thanks to the considerations done it was ascertained that burdening Polish credit unions with MREL requirements has been, in fact, an inappropriate solution, inadequate both to the structure of their ownership funds and the goals for which these requirements were established, since the goals include, at the outmost, protection of union members as consumers, and not burdening them - as small shareholders – with the risk of the business conducted by the members to satisfy their own needs.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Legal Determinants of Accountability of Credit Union Members
    AU  - Joanna Maria Mędrzecka
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    AB  - The financial crisis of 2007-2009 has triggered the development of legal solutions aimed at reducing economic turmoil by, in particular, increasing the responsibility of shareholders of financial institutions for the failure of the latter. The solutions in question include, inter alia, procedures of forced restructuring of financial institutions and establishment of the level of the so-called MREL for them. Counted among these institutions are also credit unions, the legal situation of which entities shows a number of peculiarities. They operate not for profit, have a highly dispersed ownership structure and limited opportunities to raise capital and, above all, members of the credit union as a cooperative society play a dual role in it - both that of shareholders and one of service users (consumers). The Polish lawgiver has made national credit unions subject to the rules of forced restructuring and MREL despite their exclusion from the European law regulations in force in that respect and placed them within as many as two separate legal regimes under which the solutions can potentially be applied. The aim of the paper is to consider whether - taking into account the legal structure of Polish credit unions - the solutions adopted under the aforementioned regimes may actually serve to increase the responsibility of credit union members for the institutions they co-own, and looking in a broader perspective - whether and to what extent they can generally contribute to successful operation of credit unions. In pursuit of the goal, attempts were made to combine dogmatic research (with the employment of the verbal logic method) with an analysis of the functions of the legal norms aimed at achieving the desired economic effects, taking into account the values the credit unions adhere to - on a global scale - as cooperatives run "not for profit, not for charity, but to serve”, as their motto reads. Thanks to the considerations done it was ascertained that burdening Polish credit unions with MREL requirements has been, in fact, an inappropriate solution, inadequate both to the structure of their ownership funds and the goals for which these requirements were established, since the goals include, at the outmost, protection of union members as consumers, and not burdening them - as small shareholders – with the risk of the business conducted by the members to satisfy their own needs.
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