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Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
How can we stop corporate gombeen men running amok again? Credit unions could be the answer
One of the pioneers of co-operative societies in Ireland, Horace Plunkett (1854-1932), established his first co-operative creamery at Ballyhahill, Limerick , in 1891. He raised the hackles of 'gombeen men', the trader money lenders who thrived on the isolation of individuals in need of finance and charged them crippling interest rates. Plunkett's efforts, helped by others such as writer and artist George William Russell and the Jesuit Fr Tom Finlay, included the establishment of agricultural credit societies, sometimes called village or land banks, of which there were 268 by 1908. They were the forerunners of the modern credit unions . Plunkett's biographer Trevor West has suggested one of his aims in reorganising rural commerce was to restore 'a sense of dignity, a spirit of self-reliance, and an air of optimism'. Fifty years later, Nora Herlihy from Cork , a teacher in Dublin from 1936, devoted to underprivileged students and disturbed by the poverty surrounding them, established an exploratory group, the Credit Union Extensive Services, at her house in Phibsborough. She encouraged a group of neighbours to form Ireland's first credit union in Donore Avenue. John Hume in Derry in the 1960s also played a key role in the credit union movement, which he regarded as one of his most important jobs. By 1975, there were 453 credit unions in operation, including 93 in Northern Ireland , performing, in the words of Plunkett, 'the apparent miracle of giving solvency to a community composed almost entirely of insolvent individuals'. At the time of Herlihy's death in 1988 there were almost one million members in more than 500 branches; today, credit unions affiliated to the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), under one of its slogans, 'For Living, Not Profit', have 3.6 million members throughout Ireland. READ MORE Credit unions worked in spite of initial official scepticism. The Irish banking commission in 1938 was dismissive of the idea the State could perform any useful function in relation to co-operative agricultural credit, while the much lauded blueprint Economic Development by TK Whitaker in 1958 asserted that 'history affords no support for the belief that co-operative credit societies can be successfully established'. With the Credit Union Act of 1966, however, came statutory recognition of the co-operative concept. This week, as Allied Irish Bank reverted to full private ownership, it was revealed mortgage lending by credit unions i ncreased by 34 per cent to €632 million in the three months to the end of March, compared with the same period last year. The total credit union loan book now stands at €6.08 billion, its highest since 2008. ILCU chief executive David Malone said the group was 'eagerly awaiting' changes to the Central Bank's lending rules, which could see credit unions treble their mortgage lending from the current cap of €1.9 billion on the back of a proposed new loan limit of 30 per cent of total credit union assets on house lending. Malone has made much of harnessing the 'collective might' of the credit unions: 'We get our funding from our members' savings. We don't have corporate shareholders, and we are not subject to quarterly results forecasts.' Some within the credit union movement will have reservations about such expansion, given the historic rootedness of the credit unions in the community, dealing with smaller scale financing. However, with the stranglehold of the pillar banks on mortgage lending, it is surely a positive to see member-owned financial institutions making inroads in this area. [ How AIB went from boom to bust and back again Opens in new window ] This week AIB stated it 'profoundly regrets that the institution had to be rescued by the State almost two decades ago and owes an immense debt of gratitude to Irish taxpayers for the support provided during that challenging time.' Indeed it does. AIB recorded a profit after tax of €2.35 billion last year; its new mortgage lending was up 14 per cent to €4.5 billion, reflecting a mortgage market share of 36 per cent, while total new lending increased by 17 per cent to €14.5 billion. Last year, AIB and Bank of Ireland had a combined mortgage market share of more than 75 per cent while credit unions held less than 1 per cent. Corporate gombeen men ran amok during the Celtic Tiger . The Irish banking management culture was reprehensible in relation to customer charges, interest rates, facilitation of tax evasion and calamitous risk taking. Patrick Honohan , governor of the Central Bank from 2009 to 2015, subsequently wrote Currency, Credit and Crisis: Central Banking in Ireland and Europe (2019) , highlighting an enduring culture of corporate entitlement, limited capacity 'to achieve decisive reforms of culture', deferential regulators, lenient responses to abuses, and a Central Bank that had been far too passive. Theologist and philosopher Gabriel Flynn summed up the consequences: with 'the banking sector dominating societal decisions or overriding other community considerations, the inevitable result is an infringement of human dignity'. It is to be hoped that a greater role for credit unions might lead to a diluting of such violations.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
I'm smack bang in middle age without any property, ageing knees and a scant pension portfolio
About once a month I set the parameters on my favourite property apps to 'maximum €100,000' and 'all of Ireland' and set off on a mildly hopeful but largely depressing scroll. Through various means – significant savings built up during the peak of my recent success as an author, some family help, and maybe a credit union loan – I figure I could buy a home outright for a hundred grand. Isn't that the dream, to be mortgage- and rent-free? It is for me, a minimally attractive mortgage candidate smack bang in middle age without any property to my name, ageing knees and organs, and a pension portfolio so scant that my accountant once asked me with his eyes closed what age I was planning to retire at. The sub-100k properties for sale around Ireland right now have several things in common. A huge number of them feature what I like to call 'the aul lad chair'. It's a high-backed fireside armchair upholstered in dusty pink or pale green velvet, or maybe a busy floral brocade. It has seen much, much better days. The arms are dirty or well-worn, the seat is sagging, and there's a definite indentation where the aul lad used to rest his weary head. The aul lad chair is almost always situated beside a vintage Aga, the type that would sell for seven grand in its reconditioned state but has already been lost to rust and disuse. Atop the Aga there might be an ancient enamel saucepan and above it a sacred heart lamp. Above the aul lad chair and indeed evident and encroaching every room in the house is the real reason the property is so 'cheap', the sinister presence of damp and black mould . Even the listings where only the corners of the rooms seem affected and my heart jumps at the prospect of a house that might be immediately habitable, the blurb always features the damning phrase, 'requires extensive renovation'. A closer inspection usually reveals a juvenile oak tree growing out of the roof and a life-threatening electrical situation. These houses depress me for several reasons. I mourn their previous inhabitants, especially the properties where more glimpses of their lives are evident – blankets on beds, newspapers scattered on floors, personal hygiene items in frigid, burgundy bathrooms. That they've fallen into such disrepair is shameful, yet understandable. They're usually rural and remote, and probably needed renovation and modernisation while their final occupants were still alive. Grieving or absent families aren't in a position to maintain these houses, and vacancy sounds a speedy death knell. READ MORE I wish I had it in me to buy a crumbling cottage for eighty grand and renovate it beautifully, but I don't. It's hard enough to pin down a tradesperson in Dublin, imagine trying to do so in rural Roscommon or Longford, which is where many of these properties are. On the rare occasion when there is a somewhat turnkey house advertised it's usually prohibitively remote. The listing will try to sell it as an 'attractive potential holiday home or investment property', compounding one of the reasons we're in this crisis in the first place. [ Mark O'Connell: The housing crisis could erode Ireland's middle class to a point of collapse Opens in new window ] Grappling with the sums of money bandied about on the housing market is difficult to grasp. Day after day I see properties for sale for two, three, four million and I wonder who the people with that kind of budget are. One-hundred thousand euro is at once an unimaginable amount of money and a meaningless sum. Imagine all I could do with it, and yet it is a drop in the ocean of house prices. A friend who bought her house a few years ago maintains that after a certain point, the numbers become empty. You become so desperate that an extra 10, 20, 50 thousand seems acceptable debt to take on. You're going to be paying it off for the next 30 years anyway. I have a couple of friends at the bidding stage of their home-buying journeys and the tactics and greed of both estate agents and sellers are truly sickening. Bid deadlines mean nothing as long as someone is still coughing up. Modest, former council houses are pushing seven and eight hundred grand. I'm now faced with paying a sickening amount for a one-bed apartment in a Dublin suburb to stay relatively close to my friends and community or move several counties away for a little more space but a lonely existence. And with more than 15,000 people homeless in our country, I'm lucky with that, I know.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Vast majority of members from 3 Sask. credit unions vote to merge
Members of Conexus, Cornerstone and Synergy credit unions in Saskatchewan have voted in favour of merging. The vast majority of members from three Saskatchewan credit unions have voted in favour of a merger. More than 87 per cent of members of Conexus Credit Union in Regina, 86.5 per cent of Cornerstone Credit Union members in Yorkton and 88.7 per cent of Synergy Credit Union members in Lloydminster voted in favour of a merger. A successful vote required at least 75 per cent approval from members that cast a vote from each credit union. The three credit unions will officially merge Jan. 1, 2026, forming a new province-wide institution. A joint news release from the three partners says the new Credit Union will be governed by an inaugural board that will include 12 directors comprised of six directors from Conexus and three each from Cornerstone and Synergy. 'The overwhelming member support confirms the shared vision and commitment to building a stronger, more resilient credit union that remains member-focused and dedicated to thriving in Saskatchewan,' the release said. The credit unions feel that a merger will better prepare them to meet future investment needs, access specialized expertise and navigate regulatory challenges while continuing to 'offer the service, innovation and local decision-making members expect.' Required legal and regulatory processes will be finalized in the coming months. A CEO and credit union name is also expected to be announced during that period. 'The CEO and credit union name will be selected from one of the three existing credit unions before we officially become one,' the release said. Progress on the merger can be seen here.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
State Employees' Credit Union of Maryland Partners with MANTL to Give New and Existing Business and Retail Members a Seamless Account Opening Experience
Maryland's largest credit union will modernize its account opening process across all banking channels, including its 23-branch network PLANO, Texas, June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MANTL, an Alkami solution team and leading provider of account origination technology, today announced a partnership with State Employees' Credit Union of Maryland (SECU), a $5.7B credit union with 23 financial centers across Maryland, to enhance its in-branch and online account opening processes for businesses and retail members. This partnership will allow SECU to seamlessly open new member accounts on any banking channel, at any time, and demonstrates SECU's commitment to giving its business members, retail members, and employees the best possible banking experiences. SECU is also a customer of Alkami Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKT) ("Alkami"), a leading provider of cloud-based digital banking solutions for financial institutions in the U.S. SECU leverages Alkami's Digital Banking Platform to provide a seamless, innovative, and user-friendly digital banking experience. SECU will benefit from the combined power of MANTL and Alkami—two solutions that are part of the digital sales and service platform—to drive growth, provide a best-in-class user experience, and streamline operations throughout the entire account holder lifecycle. This position brings multiple use cases for SECU to deliver a cohesive, end-to-end experience that delivers greater customer value and increased revenue. SECU will leverage Consumer Deposit Origination by MANTL to transform the online account opening experience and streamline the in-branch experience for members and employees. With MANTL, SECU will remove friction from its current account opening process, empowering members to open a new deposit account, typically in less than 5 minutes, and with a superior account opening experience (and typically within 10 minutes for in-branch experiences). By serving a wider audience of consumers across digital channels and providing a simple and intuitive account opening experience, SECU will drive deposit and new member growth. Business Deposit Origination by MANTL will allow SECU to better attract, serve, and deepen relationships with businesses across its target markets. Businesses of all sizes will be able to seamlessly and securely open a new business account on any device or any channel, including online, on a mobile application (app), in-branch, or in the field. Adaptive workflows and automated, real-time decisioning on the MANTL platform will reduce friction in the application process and keep operations streamlined, so SECU can better focus on serving the needs of its business members. "At SECU, we pride ourselves on our commitment to cutting-edge digital solutions for our members and employees. Credit unions are built on a foundation of putting people first, and we look forward to reimagining our account processes with the help of innovative partners like MANTL," said Jason Reimer, executive vice president, chief infrastructure and experience officer at SECU. "SECU members across Maryland will be able to utilize sensible, real-time digital solutions that seamlessly improve member experiences in our financial centers and online." By integrating MANTL with its core processing system, SECU will now be able to automate over 85% of application decisions, including Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), product service ordering, funding, and core booking, to create efficiencies and keep manual processes to a minimum. "MANTL is thrilled to partner with the largest credit union in Maryland to modernize its retail and business account opening process across all of its banking channels," said Nathaniel Harley, co-founder and president at MANTL. "By empowering both members and employees with faster, more intuitive experiences, SECU is demonstrating a bold commitment to innovation and banking accessibility that aligns with MANTL's mission to transform banking and strengthen communities." For more information on SECU and to view current deposit offerings, visit here. For more information on MANTL or to schedule a demo, visit here. About MANTLMANTL is an Alkami solution team that offers unified account origination technology, empowering banks and credit unions to open loan and deposit accounts seamlessly on any banking channel in real time. MANTL Deposit Origination is among the fastest and most performant solutions on the market; consumers can open a new deposit account in under five minutes, businesses can open a new deposit account in under 10 minutes, and MANTL customers raise billions in core deposits. MANTL Loan Origination simplifies each step in the loan process, automating up to 100% of loan application decisions to ensure an intuitive, feature-rich experience from personal loans to business financing. Founded in 2016, MANTL was acquired in March 2025 by Alkami Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKT), a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions in the U.S. For more information, visit or follow MANTL on LinkedIn. About SECUSECU ("see-Q"), Maryland's largest state-chartered credit union, serves over 250,000 members via 23 Financial Centers across the state, including 21 Financial Centers, 1 Digital Center, and a Virtual Financial Center. As a member-owned, not-for-profit organization, SECU puts its members first. Membership is open to all of Maryland, with over 1,900 ways to join. You may be eligible through a family member, work, the college you attended, state employment, an organization you are affiliated with, or simply through a one-time donation to SECU's partner, the SECU MD Foundation. Headquartered in Linthicum, Md., SECU offers convenient access to over 50,000 free ATMs through the CO-OP network, as well as access to expert financial planners. With more than $5 billion in assets, SECU ranks among the top 60 credit unions nationwide based on total assets in the U.S. Insured by NCUA. For more information, visit or follow SECU on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok. Media Relations Contacts Vestedalkami@ Marla View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Alkami Technology, Inc. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Refinancing? Here's why you should apply at a credit union
If you bought a home when rates were at their peak, or if you're considering tapping your equity, you may be ready for a refinance. As you're shopping around for a lender, consider adding a credit union into the mix. Only eight of the top 100 mortgage lenders by market share are credit unions, according to 2024 HMDA data. Yet, member satisfaction at credit unions is significantly higher than at retail banks, according to a 2025 J.D. Power study. Here's why you may want to refinance your mortgage at a credit union. At first glance, a credit union and a bank may look the same. They offer similar services: checking and savings accounts, mortgages, auto loans and more. But how they function is a different matter. 'A credit union is a member-owned financial institution,' says Mark Burrage, senior vice president of home loans at PenFed Credit Union. 'We don't have shareholders. We're also a not-for-profit.' Unlike commercial banks, who have shareholders, credit unions reinvest any profit back into the organization or pay it to members as dividends. While there's a perception that credit unions are small, local institutions — and many are — there are several larger credit unions, just as there are smaller, regional and larger, national banks. And like banks, credit unions may also be online-only or have branch locations. Keep in mind that, unlike most banks, some credit unions are open only to certain groups. For example, Navy Federal Credit Union focuses on active-duty military, veterans, Department of Defense employees and their immediate family members. That said, many credit unions are easy to join, requiring only a minimum deposit or a donation. Because credit unions are nonprofits, they can focus on service and transparency, says Dan Bauer, head of residential lending for Alliant Credit Union. 'At Alliant, we use the same underwriting standards as other lenders, but focus on making the process smooth and member-friendly,' Bauer says. 'We're here to help members make smart, informed decisions — not rush into a loan that's not the right fit.' That means having mortgage experts to work through any complications, as well as offer guidance on whether it's the right time to refinance. And if your credit union specializes in a certain type of loan — like VA loans — that could smooth the refinance process. Credit unions beat out retail banks when it comes to trust, convenience and resolving problems in J.D. Power's study. According to Burrage, this is about where they spend money — and where they don't spend money. 'From a marketing standpoint, you're not going to see us come out and spend $100 million [on a] marketing campaign and have Marvel characters and everything associated with it,' Burrage says. 'We're relationship based.' According to a March 2025 report from the National Credit Union Administration, membership in federally insured credit unions increased by 2.9 million people year-over-year. A total of 143.2 million people belong to federally insured credit unions. When you're shopping for a refinance lender, great customer service is helpful — but ultimately, you'll want to make sure the numbers work in your favor. The less you pay to refinance, and the better the rate you can get, the sooner you'll actually see savings from the process. According to data from the National Credit Union Administration, credit unions beat banks by an average of 16 basis points on 30-year mortgage rates between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025. Some credit unions also have affiliated companies that allow you bundle discounts. 'If somebody comes in, and they buy a home with us, and they use PenFed Mortgage, but they also use PenFed Realty … they could have a reduced refinance [rate] down the road,' Burrage says. Learn more: Bankrate's refinance break-even calculator Accessibility: Many credit unions are small, local institutions, and some allow only certain groups of people to join. Specialization: In some cases, your local credit union may specialize in a loan type not everyone qualifies for, such as VA loans. Tighter lending standards: Because of their relative size, many credit unions are more choosy in their lending criteria, and you may struggle to get a good rate if you have a lower qualifying credit score. Older technology: While there are certainly tech-savvy credit unions, many smaller credit unions haven't invested in tech as heavily as big banks. If you're considering refinancing your mortgage, one thing is for sure: Shopping around is crucial to ensure you're getting a solid deal. 'Purchasing a home is more of an emotional decision,' Burrage says. 'Refinancing is a math equation.' Whether that deal comes from a credit union or a bank, getting multiple offers is a big part of getting the best mortgage rate, no matter what your financial situation. 'Don't wait for the 'perfect' rate' — focus on your overall financial goals,' Bauer says. 'Refinancing can be a powerful tool to reduce monthly payments, pay off your loan sooner or access equity for other needs.'
