Irishtimes.com reports that the Irish government has announced it will guarantee the security of the first €100,000 of savings in any particular institution – including money in current accounts.

The decision extends State protection to the savings of the two million people who are members of 420 credit unions around Ireland.

Until now, the credit unions have been entirely outside the Irish deposit protection scheme.

The State’s previous commitment  guaranteed 90 per cent of people’s deposits in any one institution up to a maximum payout of €20,000.

The Australian government is considering a financial claims scheme will allow customers in all ADI’s (banks, building societies and credit unions) and insurers to quickly recover money in deposit accounts. Customers will be able to recover monies up to a specified cap (up to a limit per  person of $20,000), with the remainder likely to be recovered when the ADI is liquidated.