Capital Loan and Investment Society?

[Brendan Burgess]

I was walking up North Frederick Street the other day and saw this company.

http://www.capitalloan.ie/index.asp

It's a Friendly Society founded in 1903"to assist those living in tenements, who were financially unstable and heavily reliant on moneylenders."

"The Capital Loan & Investment Society is a member of the Registrar of Friendly Societies.The Society is subject to regulation by the Central Bank in relation to compliance with the Consumer Credit Directive and the credit approvals processes are fully in compliance with the Irish legal requirements."

They charge an APR of 21%!

You must have 10% of the loan in shares on which they pay 0.2%

It's one of 5 friendly societies left in the country.

From the FAQ
"Why do I need a guarantor?
At Capital Loan & Investment Society all members who wish to apply for a loan must have a guarantor. This is one of the rules of the Society. It enables us to give out loans quickly and with very reasonable interest rate."

 

[MrEarl]

Hardly what I would consider a "Friendly" society

I think it might actually be cheaper to borrow on my credit card, particularly when I factor in the 10% share requirement into my overall cost (borrowing on a credit card is not something I would encourage by the way).

 

[Brendan Burgess]

I suspect that their customers wouldn't have the credit record required to get credit cards.

But it might be a bit like the Credit Unions. Some blind loyalty results in them borrowing at ridiculously high rates when they could get the money cheaper elsewhere.

Brendan

 

[MrEarl]

Interestingly, I note on their website ("about us" section) that they claim to have 10,000 active members.

Not an insignificant number, if accurate.

I wonder how they promote their services, where their target market is ? ... like you Mr. Burgess, I suspect a significant percentage of their borrowers would have low credit records, but yet they must also have managed to get someone to go guarantor for them.

Also interesting to note that a few of the people on their board / committees have the same second name....