Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I see three ways whereby credit unions can assist in providing funding for house building or for mortgages for people to purchases houses. One way is through the SPV we have discussed, which is a complicated exercise. The loan ultimately comes from the SPV in which the credit union has an investment, rather than coming through the credit union's own front door. I would be much happier to see credit unions being able to lend through their own front door, in their own name, rather than through an SPV. The most important thing that credit unions can do when they are beginning to work on it, and I gave the example of the agricultural sector, is to collaborate where they can to do a lot of their back-of-house work such as credit checking and financial modelling. If they come together on a collaborative basis without having to form an SPV, this would be another option. Finally, the major credit unions with substantial assets are in a position where a number of them are giving individual mortgages. I would like to see more of that as time develops.

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