Clann Credo Wins Specialist Lender Award at 2025 FS Awards
Clann Credo Wins Specialist Lender Award at 2025 FS Awards
Clann Credo,Ireland's leader in impact lending, has won the Specialist Lender Award at the2025 FS Awards. We were chosen from a strong shortlist of First Citizen FinanceDAC, Revolut and Spry Finance, in recognition of almost 30 years of fair andflexible lending to communities across Ireland.
At a glance
• Award: SpecialistLender Award, 2025 FS Awards, Business & Finance Media Group, October 2025
• Finalists: FirstCitizen Finance DAC, Revolut and Spry Finance
• Lending in 2024:284 loan offers worth over €32 million
• Today: a €57million loan book and more than 700 active customers (July 2025)
• Since 1996: morethan 2,000 community and voluntary organisations supported
A proud day for Impact Lending.
Clann Credo has been named Specialist Lender of the Year atthe 2025 FS Awards, hosted by Business & Finance Media Group and sponsored by Centralis Group.
We were shortlisted alongside a formidable group offinalists: First Citizen Finance DAC, Revolut and Spry Finance. Each is astrong and respected lender. To be chosen from that company is a proud momentfor a charity lender with a small team.
We are absolutely delighted and honored. Above all, thisaward is a recognition of the communities we lend to and the difference theymake every day.
Finance as a force for good
Clann Credo was founded in 1996 on a simple but powerfulidea: that finance can be a force for good. For almost 30 years, we have lentto communities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations that arechanging lives across Ireland. We do it not for profit, but for purpose.
As a registered charity and non-profit social financelender, we have supported more than 2,000 community and voluntaryorganisations. Many of them are groups that traditional lenders often overlook.Our flexible loans, backed by practical advice, help them build sports hubs,arts centres, rescue facilities, sheltered housing and social enterprises.
Our approach was commended by the OECD and the EuropeanUnion in their report,Boosting Social Enterprise Development:Good Practice Compendium.
What the judges saw
Our entry was built around our Strategic Plan for 2025–2027,shaped by consultation with decisionmakers, community networks and our owncustomers. Its mission is clear: to make social finance accessible to allcommunities who share our ambition for positive social change.
Making finance moreaffordable. In 2024 we agreed a new Facility Agreement with Social FinanceFoundation and retained the support of our philanthropic investors. Thatallowed us to pass on lower costs directly to customers. Bridging loan ratesfell from 8.5% to 6.95%, and term loan rates from 7.45% to 5.95%.
Reaching further.We have increased our risk appetite to support groups in more marginalised andunderserved communities. Our new Acorn loan is designed for groups that facebarriers to mainstream finance. We use the Pobal HP Deprivation Index to keepour lending focused on the communities most in need.
Innovating for more.Our dynamic funding model helps groups combine earned income, grants,philanthropy and social finance, building resilience and reducing reliance ongrants. We now prioritise climate-related proposals in our lending. At home, wehave installed rooftop solar panels and renewable lighting at our Inchicoreheadquarters, and we are investing in a digital transformation to improvecustomer service.
"It's great to have a finance partner that understandsthe community's role in addressing climate change." Mairead Ni Fhartharta, Comhlacht ForbarthaInis Meáin, Galway
Results that communities can feel
In 2024, Clann Credo issued 284 loan offers worth over €32million. Our loan book reached €53.2 million at year end, up from €50.3 millionin 2023 and 42% higher than in 2021. We welcomed 113 new community customers,and in the third year in a row we have onboarded more than 100 new groups.
By July 2025, when we submitted our entry, we had more than700 active customers and a loan book of €57 million.
Behind every number is a community project. Recent examplesinclude:
• Galway RapeCrisis Centre, which secured a term loan to build a purpose-designedfacility.
• Chabad Ireland,which used a 20-year loan to acquire a student centre and accommodation hub inDublin.
• Ballycumber GAAClub, Offaly, which financed a new sports hub.
• DromcollogherVoluntary Housing Association, which completed a new housing development.
• Wexford ArtsCentre, which used a bridging loan for public art and energy-efficientlighting.
We also invest in learning across the sector. Our 2024National Conference, Building SustainableCommunities Through Social Finance, was opened by Minister Jack Chambersand welcomed more than 200 delegates. In 2026, Clann Credo hosts the EU-wideconference on community-led development in Kilkenny, bringing more than 150delegates to Ireland.
Thank you
This recognition is a tribute to the community leaders,volunteers and organisations who put their trust in us. It is also a tribute toour small but dedicated team, who work tirelessly to make those ambitionspossible.
To every member of the Clann Credo team: this award isyours. It is thanks to your passion, your commitment, your belief and yourunwavering support for the communities and organisations we serve.
We are grateful to the judges and to Business & Financefor shining a light on the social impact side of finance. And for reminding usthat innovation isn't just about technology. It's about people.
