A new report from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has shown credit unions have increased their lending over the year to March.
APRA’s quarterly performance statistics found credit unions had lifted their total housing loans by 10.2 per cent over the year.
The credit union and building society sector’s market share in new owner occupied lending commitments was also up from 6.8 per cent in July 2008 to 7.9 per cent in July 2009.
Louise Petschler, CEO of Abacus, said the figures prove that the banks do not have the lending market to themselves.
“It’s tough competing in a market dominated by the big banks but the mutual sector continues to perform strongly,” Ms Petschler said.
“Take our sector’s stellar performance in prudent lending – the banks recorded a 228 per cent increase in charge for bad doubts in the year to March while the mutual banking sector recorded a 5 per cent decrease in charge for bad debts.”