Written answers

Thursday, 25 February 2021

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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40. To ask the Minister for Finance the recent engagement his Department has had with the three credit union representative bodies (details supplied) regarding the provision of SME lending and ensure the productive use of credit union members savings that are at present on deposit in the major retail banks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10647/21]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I met all of the representative bodies you refer to in September 2020, the third such meeting during 2020. In addition, Minister of State Fleming met two of the representative bodies you refer to in January 2021.

The parties you refer to have outlined to us in these meetings their plans to support their members to grow lending, including through SME and mortgage lending and lending for retrofit.

Credit unions have a low loan-to-asset ratio of c 26%. Of the €5.1 billion in loan book at 30 September 2020, €207 million was mortgage lending and a further €119 million was commercial lending.

We are supportive of their plans to grow mortgage and SME lending either individually or in collaborative ventures. We also supported the involvement of nineteen credit unions in the Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme which is operated by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland on behalf of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment.

Credit unions have the potential to develop further as community banks offering their members a wider range of products and services – including SME lending.

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