Value of credit union mortgage book grew by 26% in 2025

David Malone, chief executive of the Irish League of Credit Unions, also revealed that credit unions are in discussion regarding participation in the recently announced Zippay initiative. 

The total value of mortgages held by Irish credit unions increased by 26% during the course of 2025 with mortgages now representing 11.5% of their total loan book, new data shows.

According to the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), which represents 90% of the credit unions active in Ireland, there were 109,000 new loans issued during the first three months of this year bringing the value of their overall loan book to €6.54bn — which is a record high for the sector.

During the course of 2025, ILCU member unions issued 412,623 new loans.

Of that, mortgages accounted for €754m. When credit unions not represented by the ILCU are included in the data, the value of the overall mortgage book stands at €992m just short of the €1bn milestone.

Between October and December, credit unions issued €659m in new lending. The ILCU said that mortgage lending continues to be the main driver of growth. Mortgages now represent 11.5% of the overall loan portfolio, up from 10.1% from the end of September.

Chief executive of the ICLU David Malone said when it comes to mortgages “credit unions are providing real choice in a hyper-concentrated market and offering vital support to members at the most important financial moments in their lives”.

The value of the average outstanding loan stands at €11,094. The data shows that the proportion of loans that are in arrears stand at around 2.25%.

According to the ILCU, as of the end of December, its members held assets worth €19.58bn — up €203m quarter-on-quarter and up by just over €1bn over the course of the year.

ILCU member unions collectively hold €16.31bn in savings, as of the end of 2025 — up from €15.44bn the year prior.

In the three months from October to December 2025, ILCU-affiliated credit unions paid out €8.4m in Life Savings benefits. In the same period, loan protection cover cleared almost €4.2m in outstanding loans.

Zippay service

Mr Malone also revealed that credit unions are in discussion regarding participation in the recently announced Zippay initiative — which was launched by the three pillar banks earlier this month in an attempt to compete better with fintech firms such as Revolut — with a view to rolling out the service to credit union members.

The Banking and Payments Federation, Ireland (BPFI) describe Zippay as a person-to-person mobile payment service which will allow customers to be able to send, request, and split payments instantaneously by using the mobile number of their contacts who are also using the service.

These services are already provided by other fintech firms such as Revolut and Monza, but they require their own separate apps and cards.

The pillar banks work with the Nexi Group to provide the Zippay service and after the announcement the firm said that it would be offered on a non-discriminatory basis to all financial institutions that provide IBAN account services and a mobile app to Irish consumers.

Mr Malone added that the ILCU is “also progressing with the development of an overall sector-wide strategy that will guide the future of credit unions in Ireland”.

“This strategy, which will be aligned to the Government’s commitment to develop a five-year strategy for the movement, will ensure credit unions remain locally rooted while also expanding their modern financial services offering,” he said.