DEMAND FOR LOANS from the Credit Union is down for a second year in a row, despite €1.1 billion worth of loans handed out to its members over the last 12 months.
The lack of demand has been put down to “continued restrictions on lending”.
Despite this, membership has increased by 36,000, bringing the total number of members to 3.1 million across 32 counties, making the Irish movement one of the most popular in Europe.
The figures were revealed today, as almost 2,000 delegates met at the Irish League of Credit Unions annual general meeting in Limerick.
The theme of the conference is ‘Committed to Communities’ and discussions have been focusing on recent regulatory and legislative changes, as well as restructuring within the sector.
Speaking at the AGM earlier, the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, said that although credit unions were going through a major transformation, the government would stand by them:
The Government remains fully committed to supporting the Credit Union movement throughout this process. We want credit unions to emerge stronger so that you can continue to play an important role in local and national life in this country.
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