DUBLIN, Ireland--Credit unions in Northern Ireland are reporting increases in membership, savings, loans and assets through the year ended in September 2014.
The Irish League of Credit Unions reported that CUs in Northern Ireland have made £453m in loans to members, an increase of £4m over the 12-month period. Membership in Northern Ireland has risen to 442,000, an increase of 17,000 people, while savings are up 5.4% to £1,017m. There are 96 credit unions in Northern Ireland, which has seen stronger loan demand that the Republic of Ireland.
Overall, savings within ILCU credit unions are up by 2.1% in 2014, having reached €10.7bn. Moreover, 288 of the 374 credit unions in Ireland experienced a growth in savings for the full year to date. Another characteristic of credit unions is that savings attached to loans remain high, with 40% of the loan book being covered by savings.
The end of year results show that credit unions have €5bn in funds available to lend to members. There are currently 374 credit unions in the Republic of Ireland.
Overall, Ireland’s CUs have seen a decline in loan volume of 1.4% at the end of the second quarter.
According to WOCCU, credit unions across Ireland have a market penetration of 75%