Changes at top of NMCU as 2024/25 report launched and AGM fixed for December 10
Changes among the senior personnel at North Midlands Credit Union (NMCU) have been confirmed this week as the annual report for 2024-2025 is launched.
CEO Tom Allen is retiring at the end of 2025 after a long and distinguished career with the Credit Union, and Derek Smith will take over as new CEO at the beginning of 2026. Derek has been with the Credit Union for more 25 years and is the current assistant manager.
Also, chairperson, Conor Isdell, has completed his tenure and is stepping down from the position; he will be replaced by Eugene Dunne.
The 2025 AGM of North Midlands Credit Union will be held online on Wednesday 10 December at 7pm (registration in advance is required to attend).
Among the many highlights of the year are a surplus of €8.3 million, “which was well up on anything we previously made so we’re delighted with that”, Mr Allen told the Westmeath Examiner during a short discussion last week ahead of the AGM.
“We developed new services, we started issuing mortgages at scale, which was new to credit unions. With other credit unions throughout the country we developed a mortgage company and that was launched during the year, so we now provide a new mortgage which is unique in Ireland. It’s a variable rate but has capped interest, so a variable rate that can’t go above a certain level.”
Total assets now amount to almost €550 million, making North Midlands Credit Union one of the largest in the country, and the surplus of €8.3 million, was an increase of €1.7 million from the previous year.
The directors are proposing a dividend rate of 0.50% on member shares, giving a distribution to members of €2.2 million.
Total income was €18.5 million. Income from member’s loans accounted for €9.5 million while investment and other income accounted for €9.0 million. Total expenditure for the year amounted to €10.3 million, a decrease of €200,000 on the previous year. In general, costs increased across almost all areas of expenditure with one notable exception – regulatory fees and levies decreased by €885,000 on the prior year, principally because there was no requirement to fund the Deposit Guarantee Scheme in 2025.”
More than 9,000 new loans were issued for a total of €55.8 million during the year, an average of over €1.1 million per week, and the loan book is at all time high of €136.3 million.
Members’ savings now stand at over €467 million, an increase of €37 million over the 12-month period.
Total reserves stood at €79 million on September 30, 2025 – an increase of €10.8 million over the year.
Membership of the Credit Union continues to expand and stood at almost 70,200 at the end of September. That includes more than 4,000 members who joined through the Transfer of Engagements of North Longford and Arva Credit Union.
Earlier this year, NMCU received a formal approach from the Board of Roscommon Credit Union to consider the transfer of their activities; the proposal is being evaluated and members will be kept informed on developments.
The future remains bright for NMCU, and the directors expect that changes made by the Central Bank should see significant growth in mortgage and business lending over the coming years.