Credit unions attending the Irish League of Credit Unions’ (ILCU) AGM have voted in favour of a motion that will pave the way for credit unions to become significant players in the mortgage market.
Credit unions voted to make funding available for the ILCU to develop a centralised support structure to assist with the administrative burden associated with mortgage lending. It is expected that this support structure will come on-stream towards the end of 2017.
Under this model of operation, individual credit unions will be responsible for the lending decision and will directly offer the mortgage loan to members. The centralised support service will manage the administrative requirements of the mortgage lending process.
The ILCU has been working with credit unions for some time to develop a full-service mortgage solution that will meet regulatory requirements.
In the first instance, this new proposal will assist credit unions to lend up to €550 million, which would be the maximum allowed under the Section 35 lending limits. However, the ILCU will continue to campaign for an extension to these lending limits to ensure that credit unions realise their full potential as significant players in the mortgage market.
There were 1,000 delegates were in attendance at the AGM at Citywest Hotel, Dublin, where Charles Murphy of Slane Credit Union was elected as the new ILCU President.
Delegates also heard from Credit Union Youth Ambassadors and Olympic silver medallists Gary and Paul O’Donovan, who were interviewed live at the AGM by popular sports broadcaster Darragh Maloney.
Speaking at the AGM, ILCU CEO, Ed Farrell said, "Expanding loan services to encompass mortgages has been a priority area for credit unions for some time and is directly in response to significant demand from credit union members. Credit unions will play an important role in diversifying the current mortgage lending market which is sorely lacking in competition. Credit unions can now begin to realise their full potential - and provide a viable alternative to current mortgage lenders in a more significant way."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
