LONDON—The U.K’s Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which represents institutions holding approximately 95% of the assets of the U.K. mortgage market, has offered a response to a consultation paper released by Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) on credit unions and mortgage lending.
“Credit unions have not been traditionally part of the U.K. mortgage lending scene; however, over the past few years, credit unions have sought the ability to offer mortgage products,” the CML stated. “However, the current restrictive regulatory regime discourages more credit unions from entering the market. If there were changes in the regulation of credit unions, in respect of their mortgage portfolios, we anticipate that an increasing number of firms would apply for permission to market mortgages to their members. Currently, only a handful of credit unions have the ability to offer mortgages. However, in other jurisdictions, credit unions are a significant provider of mortgages. We believe there is scope for credit unions in the U.K. to become a larger part of the mortgage market.”
The CML called on regulators to ease the burden on credit unions in order to allow more to enter the mortgage lending market.