Updated / Friday, 20 Mar 2026 09:43
New figures from the Irish League of Credit Unions – which represents 90% of active credit unions here – show its union loan book reached the highest level ever and mortgage lending continuing on a strong upward trajectory.
The Irish League of Credit Unions said that €659m in new lending was issued during the months from October to December, a 7% increase on the €615m issued the same time the previous year.
It said that sustained momentum has driven the total credit union loan book to €6.54 billion, a new all-time high that surpasses both the September 2025 record and the previous historic peak of €6.21 billion set in 2008.
While the October to December period is typically the slowest quarter for new personal loans, largely due to lower demand for car purchases and home improvements, credit unions issued over 109,000 new loans during the three month period, it noted.
Mortgage lending continues to be a key driver of this growth, the ILCU said.
The total mortgage loan book among ILCU-affiliated credit unions reached €754m by the end of December 2025, representing a 6% increase on the previous quarter and a 26% rise year-on-year.
Overall, the credit union mortgage book now stands at €992m, just short of the €1 billion milestone.
It said that mortgages now represent 11.5% of the overall loan portfolio, up from 10.1% last year in the first quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, the average loan outstanding also rose to a new high of €11,094, up from €11,044 in the previous quarter.
“This growth in lending is underpinned by strong credit quality as illustrated by the low arrears figure of 2.25%,” the ILCU said.
David Malone, CEO of the Irish League of Credit Unions, noted that credit unions have only been substantively involved in mortgages for the last three years.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said competitive rates and a personalised, quick turnaround service are among the reasons for the increase.
“The Central Bank have also increased our capacity to do mortgages up to €6.6 billion, so we’re now on a trajectory to hit that target over a number of years on a phased basis, and I think that will make a really meaningful impact,” he said.
“The mortgage market itself is hyper-concentrated. At the moment, 92% of mortgages are issued by the three pillar banks, so this is going to give a compelling alternative choice for customers,” he added.
Mr Malone said credit unions have around €14 billion in investments that they could lend out to members, so they are not as impacted by ECB rates.
Credit unions do not necessarily rely on ECB market rates for their funding, he said.
“Instead we have member savings and a very simple community impact model, where we just recycle those savings back to support communities, including homeowners and small businesses as well,” he added.
