Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 June 2023
152. Deputy Damien English asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, by county, in tabular form, the name of each credit union, the euro amount of assets for each credit union, the euro value of loans on issue by each credit union, and the loan-to-asset ratio in each instance; how he envisages additional lending by credit unions to be enabled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29815/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI thank the Deputy for his question. The Central Bank is subject to strict confidentiality requirements in accordance with Section 33AK of the Central Bank Act 1942 and cannot provide financial information in relation to individual credit unions.
I can however provide the Deputy with aggregate information in regard to the credit union sector. As at end March 2023 there are 198 active credit unions with an average size of approximately €104.4 million.
The sector has a total loan book of €5.8 billion. Over 90% of credit unions total lending, €5.26 billion, is in personal loans.
The sector’s average loan to asset ratio is 29%. The issue of low loan to asset ratios is not a new one and to build a sustainable business model, credit unions must continue to grow lending by expanding and enhancing their product offerings.
This Government is encouraged by the growth of credit union mortgage and SME lending, with mortgage lending up 26.6% and SME lending up 12.4% year on year to March 2023.
Enabling provisions contained in the Credit Union (Amendment) Bill, such as allowing for member referral and the establishment of corporate credit unions, will further help credit unions develop their business model.
