The credit union loan book now stands at €6.48 billion - up 10% year-on-year, according to the Irish League of Credit Unions.
That is up on the €6.24 billion figure recorded at the end of June, and is well up on the Celtic Tiger peak of €6.21 billion.
The ILCU represents 90% of active credit unions in the country, with its members issuing 109,000 loans in the three months to the end of September alone.
Much of its loan growth in recent years has been driven by mortgages, with mortgage lending up 28% year-on-year.
It now represents 11% of the total credit union loan book.
"Mortgages have become a huge part of our story," said David Malone, CEO of the ILCU. "They've more than doubled over the last three years."
That level of lending is expected to grow considerably in the coming years.
A recent change to the credit union lending framework has effectively trebled the total amount that can be offered in loans for housing and businesses.
"We're targetting 10% of new lending over the next number of years, where ultimately we would be doing €1 billion of new mortgage lending each year," said Mr Malone.
When credit unions fully entered the mortgage market it came at a time of high European Central Bank interest rates. But as credit union mortgages are funded directly rather than through market lending, it was able to offer a more competitive rate than pillar banks.
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ECB rates have since fallen, while there are signs of increased competition in the Irish mortgage market. But Mr Malone said consumer choice was still relatively limited.
"We see a very highly concentrated mortgage market," he said. "The market itself in the last BPFI data shows that 93% of mortgages were issued through the three pillar banks".
"We have funds to lend, first of all, but we also have a very unique proposition - and the one word that typifies that is 'human'. We're not relying on a 'computer says no' algorithm - we're actually looking to bypass that to the actual person themselves, and their actual ability to repay. That's a unique aspect of our service and offering," he said.
With Christmas just four weeks away, and cost of living pressures continuing to rise, many households will be feeling a significant amount of financial pressure.
Mr Malone said his organisations' members had not seen a rise in lending activity so far - but he did say that consumers in need of credit should consider the credit union over the likes of credit cards or 'buy now, pay later' offers.
"We encourage our members to save and to put budget plans in place for Christmas," he said. "If that's not the case we're here to help fund their Christmas issues - particularly in terms of providing low-cost finance.
"We would encourage members of the public to look at credit union, cost-effective finance - we have no hidden penalties or challenges," he added.
