Ms Anne Marie McKiernan:

Mortgage lending is already provided for in our regulatory framework. Only a small number of credit unions choose to use the scope they have in the regulatory framework to undertake that business. They rightly recognise that long-term secured lending is very different from what most of their business is built on, which is short-term personal financing. Mortgage lending is a competitive market with experienced players so we would expect credit unions to consider very carefully whether a major move into that market was best suited to them in the context of their current and future challenges.

What do we think credit unions most need to do at this stage? They need to work with us to meet their regulatory requirements as this best protects them, their members' funds and the stability of the sector. Second, they need more mergers as this will help them to get stronger, financially and operationally, and to gain efficiencies that can be used to develop their business. Third, they need to focus on the product and service development and new delivery channels, not necessarily in an overly ambitious way but in a way that will attract and retain younger borrowers and give them the services they need in the way they expect. If credit unions can get those three things right, there is no reason they cannot recover their strong place in the financial system and be a thriving force into the future.