Mark Genovese, chief executive of the $700 million Maritime, Mining & Power Credit Union, says he is pursuing a similar strategy to Australia’s four largest banks by establishing close relationships with superannuation funds AusCoal and Maritime Super as the funds seek “solid returns”.

“We’ve set up our model which is to have a relationship with a small number of industry super funds so we can access funding and capital,” says Genovese.

Genovese says the credit union is investigating ways to work together with the two funds to create efficiencies. The credit union is in discussions with another fund.

There are about 100 credit unions in Australia. They are attractive investments for some superannuation funds who want to limit their exposure to Australian banks, says Genovese.

About 78 per cent of Genovese’s credit union assets are home loans. The credit union has never foreclosed on a mortgage.

Credit unions and banks are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority.