The Shifting Landscape of Ireland’s Mortgage Market: Examining the Impact of Bank Exits

The recent developments in Ireland’s mortgage market has triggered significant changes. A large contribution to these changes is the exit of two major banks, KBC and Ulster, from Ireland. This has left a significant impact on the mortgage industry, affecting both consumers and the market. In this article, we will explore the positive and negative effects resulting from the shrinking mortgage market and assess the potential opportunities that businesses have during these changes. 

Decreased Competition

A significant concern regarding the departure of the two banks is the decrease in competition within Ireland’s mortgage market. Reduced competition can have many unintended consequences that may be hard to recognize. One concern for the decreased competition is the fact that it may suppress innovation among industry players. Without the presence of competitive pressure it often leads to businesses not producing critically thought about products and services for their customers. In addition, without adequate competition companies could get too comfortable and this could be seen through companies offering higher interest rates and services that prioritize the company’s interests of customer satisfaction.

The Possibility of …

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Compare Mortgage Rates of Irish Lenders

The ECB will continue to raise the interest charges over 2% by the end of the year 2022. In 2023 it will be up to over 3%. If you are a first time buyer you must have 10% of the  whole house price. If you have more than 10%, your rates will be lower. There are a lot of products out there and you must have a look at which one is the best for you. There are  products for first time buyer, second time buyer, self builder and switcher. Some of them have  some special products like green mortgages or for renovator.  

The following companies were compared: Bank of Ireland,  Finance Ireland, Avant Money Mortgages, ICS Mortgages,  Permanent TSB, Haven, AIB, EBS. 

Bank of Ireland has a lot of offers when you get a mortgage. If you get your first mortgage with this bank, they will give you 2000€ for saving up. They also have a  cashback system, so if you take a mortgage there they will give you 2% cashback of the mortgage and 1% extra cashback if …

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The 10 Mortgage Lenders in Ireland

There are 10 mortgage lenders available in Ireland. These include (no particular order):

AIB Avant Money Bank of Ireland EBS Finance Ireland Haven ICS Mortgages KBC Permanent tsb Ulster Bank

Many mortgage holders qualify for a change of mortgage and could thus save significant amounts of money. It is important to compare your options before deciding on a mortgage. The central bank’s mortgage lending rules impose a limit on the amount of money a bank is allowed to lend.

Currently, Irish banks can lend up to 3.5 times a borrower’s annual income. Lenders may exceed the 3.5 loan-to-income limit for 20% of the total loan value in a calendar year. Lenders examine bank statements to understand a borrower’s ability to repay. You will be asked to submit six-month bank and credit card statements.

This post was written by Veronika Pluháčková who was a research intern at Irish Mortgage Brokers in May of 2022.

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Irish Households’ savings at record levels

Irish households saved more than 4 times the average amount during the first quarter of 2021, according to a recent study by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The CSO reports that Irish households saved more than €10 billion during the first three months of 2021.

This massive increase in savings was undoubtedly related to Covid-19 and it’s corresponding economic restrictions. Due to businesses being closed because of lockdowns, government unemployment benefits, or some combination of the two, incomes either held steady or increased, while spending was dramatically decreased. The CSO also reported that uncertainty about the pandemic and how long the lockdowns would last may have forced many Irish citizens to build up an increased amount of precautionary savings, in case money became tight in the future.

When looking at the numbers, it is no surprise that savings grew dramatically when compared to the first quarter of 2020. Compared to the first three months of last year, Government subsidies increased by €1.1 billion, and social protection payments rose by an even larger margin of €2.7 billion.

While the Pandemic Unemployment …

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5 Ways to save for a Deposit

Saving up to buy a home can seem like a big challenge. Your home is likely the biggest purchase you will ever make, and unlike saving for retirement, this payment is a large sum of money that you will need to access soon. This may seem challenging, but with a solid savings plan, anyone can save enough to put a down payment on their dream home. In this article, we’ll cover 5 easy ways to start saving for your down payment today.

 

Budget your money wisely

The first and most important step in any savings plan is budgeting. To build your budget, examine your bank statements and credit card payments to see where your money is going. Make sure to keep track of how much you spend on necessary payments, such as rent, utilities, and student loan payments if you have them. Next, consider how much you spend on eating out, entertainment, and other nonessentials. While you are saving, it is a good idea to set limits on each of these categories and stick to it, setting aside the …

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Costs you Should be Aware of before Buying a House

There are more costs associated with buying your first home than just the 10% deposit. There are many additional fees, duties and taxes that you should be aware of before buying your home. 

 

The first fee you should be aware of is the stamp duty. The stamp duty is not included in your mortgage, so it’s a good idea to save this fee up in addition to your 10% deposit. The stamp duty is calculated at 1% of the selling price on a home or residential property of up to €1m, and 2% of the selling price on homes and residential properties above €1m. This stamp duty may change however, and full details are available on the Revenue.ie website. 

Legal fees are another hidden cost of buying a home that you should look out for. There are a lot of legal aspects that have to be accounted for when officially transferring ownership of the property to you, so you should find a trusted real estate lawyer to take care of this transfer. Legal fees will vary depending on …

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4 Easy Ways to Improve your Financial Literacy

Financial literacy is one of the most important and underrated skills that anyone can have. Understanding basic financial concepts such as mortgages, inflation, and interest rates is critical for financial success. Once you unlock this knowledge, you will be better equipped to effectively manage, save, and invest money for you and your family. This knowledge, combined with other good financial habits, is the key to financial well being and freedom later on in life. While everyone has varying degrees of financial literacy, there is an overwhelming amount of resources available to expand your knowledge on financial topics.

 

Read Personal Finance Books

If you enjoy reading, there is no shortage of finance books that cover a broad variety of topics, from eliminating debt to saving for retirement. One book recommended by Forbes magazine that covers the latter is Rewirement: Rewiring The Way You Think About Retirement!, by Jaime Hopkins. This book tackles common misconceptions and bad habits that prevent people from having flexible and successful retirement plans. For a variety of books on many topics, check out Insider’s …

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Types of mortgages and lending rules

Irish law has specialized sets of lending rules depending on the type of mortgage application. Types of applications are split into three different categories: first-time buyers, remortgaging or switching, and buy-to-let buyers. Depending on which of these categories an application falls under, different loan-to-value (LTV) and loan-to-income (LTI) limits will be used. The former refers to the minimum deposit a borrower must have on a home before getting a mortgage loan. The latter refers to the maximum amount of money borrowers can receive in relation to their yearly gross income; while this is normally capped at 3.5 times one’s income, lenders can provide additional allowances of varying amount depending on the type of application.

Firstly, there are first-time buyers. These applicants are those buying a house for the first time, so the deposit required by LTV limits is understandably less steep. They will need to have a minimum deposit of 10% of the home’s total value. For example, if the price of a home is listed as €250,000, a 10% deposit would amount to €25,000. Lenders are allowed to have …

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KBC latest in Irish bank exodus

Belgian-based KBC has become the latest lender to announce its intent to leave the Irish market. The announcement came on the morning of Friday, April 16, and is part of a broader exodus of retail banks from the country. Just weeks prior, NatWest, the UK-based owner of Ulster Bank, stated that it would scale back its operations in Ireland considerably over the course of the next year. KBC is also in talks with Bank of Ireland to sell its existing loans and deposits.

Why have banks been so keen on exiting the Irish loan market? In the case of Ulster Bank, it had been struggling to make returns on investment deemed acceptable by NatWest. KBC’s chief executive, Johan Thijs, stated that talks with Bank of Ireland were being conducted in light of “…the challenging operational context for European banks…” One potential explanation for this trend is the relatively low interest rate environment of Ireland making it difficult for banks to see adequate returns. Further, the market saw a general trend downward from 2015 to 2020, with an average industry …

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What does Ireland truly stand economically compared to other European powers? (pt. 1)

Ireland may not seem to one of the most powerful countries in Europe, but there are also many misleading statistics that surround the State. This leads to a misconception of what the residents of the country truly experience and how life in Ireland plays out. Statistics such as per capita GDP, the Human Development Index, and GDP per head are skewed because of international relations within Ireland. Many times people look at one of the previously mentioned statistics and assume everything about a country on that one number. But you cannot presume that off of one indicator. Multiple accounts and indicators will have to be taken into account when determining the overall status and standing of a country.

Looking at Ireland, many individuals are inclined to believe that the numbers do not show the country as prosperous, but if the small city-state of Luxembourg was taken out of the GDP, Ireland would have the highest GDP per head in all of Europe. When looking at the composite representation of a country, GDP and GNI may not be enough to have …

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