Fair play to our credit unions for really putting it up to the banks
Fair play to our credit unions for continuing to challenge our woeful banks.
CUs issued 112,000 new loans in the last quarter of 2023 – over 1,200 every day,’ the Irish League of Credit Unions told us this week in its latest report on CU activity.
Credit union loans are generally competitive, but where they really stand out is mortgages.
So it’s hardly surprising that mortgage lending is up 15% and topped €500m in total for the first time.
Incredibly, local credit unions like Youghal and Cana are not only competing with the top banks in Europe with mortgages still under 3% – they are beating most of them.
The best our banks could do the last time we looked was 3.65% – and some are even charging twice that.
Yet even €500m worth of mortgages is just a drop in the €77bn mortgage market. CUs are hamstrung by the regulations on how much business they can do in this area.
Irish League of Credit Unions CEO David Malone said: ‘Looking to the future and building on this continued growth, the Central Bank’s review of the lending framework is crucial.’
‘This is in the context of the dramatic increase in mortgage lending as changes are needed to meet customer demand, increase flexibility, allow credit unions compete on a level playing field and provide real competition in mortgages and business lending.
‘We have engaged with the Central Bank on its lending review but are now looking for targeted changes to allow more choice for consumers and reduce the dominance of the retail banks.
‘The changes we are looking for will allow more mortgages, remove crisis-era restrictions and allow more business loans thereby enhancing competition in a safe and prudent manner.’
Credit unions have shown us what they can do – now is the time to let them really make an impact on a mortgage market that badly needs more competition.