A major bounce in mortgage activity was the key driver as credit unions issued loans worth €734 million in the three months to June, driving their total loan book past a record that had stood since 2008.
The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has published its third quarter results for 2025 on behalf of its affiliated credit unions. The quarter covers the period from April to June, and the group represents 90 per cent of active credit unions in the Republic.
Its credit unions issued more than 104,000 loans in the quarter, which was an increase of 17 per cent on the previous three month period.
However, the number of loans issued in the 12 months to June came to 404,853, which represented a year-on-year drop of 4.7 per cent.
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About €734 million in new lending was issued during the period, up 7 per cent on the previous quarter. Some €2.75 billion in new loans was issued in the 12 months to June, down 1 per cent compared to the previous year.
Activity in the quarter drove the total credit union loan book to €6.24 billion, surpassing the previous record of €6.21 billion set in 2008.
Mortgage lending continued to be a key driver of this growth. The total mortgage loan book reached €663 million by the end of June, which represented a 5 per cent increase on the previous quarter and a 28 per cent rise year-on-year.
Mortgages now represent 10.6 per cent of the overall loan portfolio, up from 9 per cent in June 2024 and just 6.3 per cent in June 2023. Recent changes to the Central Bank’s lending rules for credit unions are expected to grow this number further.
The average loan outstanding also rose to a new high of €10,833, up from €10,617 in the previous quarter.
The data showed the growth in lending was underpinned by strong credit quality as the overall loan arrears ratio fell to a new record low of 2.3 per cent. This was down from the previous low of 2.36 per cent in the same quarter last year.
There was also continued growth in savings, which stood at €15.87 billion, up 1.1 per cent in the quarter and 3.8 per cent since June last year.
Ireland has one of the highest levels of credit union membership per capita worldwide. There were 3.3 million credit union members in ILCU-affiliated credit unions at the end of June, up by 8,700 on the previous quarter and 33,000 across the prior 12 months.
ILCU chief executive David Malone said reaching the record loan book was “a major milestone”, which was driven by “responsible lending, increasing demand for credit union mortgages, and the lowest arrears we’ve ever recorded”.
