Ms Mary-Elizabeth McMunn:

It is lending to individuals as opposed to AHBs. A couple of factors are at play here. Our registrar recently gave a speech on this topic before representatives of the Credit Union Development Association, CUDA, and we would be happy to send a copy to the committee members if they have not already seen it. First and foremost, we must recognise that market share cannot be built overnight in house lending. Established lenders are in the market already and have scale, which means they have a natural competitive advantage. Additionally, those lenders have the competence and capability to undertake such lending, and these aspects must also be built up to allow this type of lending to be done. This is equally the case on the business side. Often, additional lending capability may be needed in niche areas and it also takes time to build capacity in this regard. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between the reason the limits exist and the capacity utilised in the system vis-à-visthose limits.