Monday 14th September 2020
Fitzgerald welcomes new competition in the mortgage market
Frances Fitzgerald, MEP for Dublin and member of the European Parliament’s Economic affairs Committee, today (Monday) welcomed the arrival of Avant Money to the mortgage market who is offering a fixed rate mortgage product at 1.95%.
“The arrival of Avant Money’s new mortgage products is good news for Irish mortgage holders and will inject much-needed competition into the Irish mortgage market," said Ms. Fitzgerald.
“Irish mortgage rates are, on average, more than double the average being charged in the Eurozone. The Central Bank of Ireland published figures in July showing that the average interest rate on new mortgages is 2.82% while the average Eurozone rate is 1.35%.
“The ECB’s main refinancing rate is currently 0.05%. This is the rate that banks pay when they borrow from the ECB. Unfortunately, Irish mortgage holders are not reaping the benefits of this ultra-low interest rate environment. However, it should be recognised that Irish banks have been slowly reducing mortgage rates in recent years.
“At this time when citizens are already hard-pressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we need fairness in the mortgage market. There should be no reason why a consumer in Belgium or Germany can avail of mortgage rates of well below 2% while Irish consumers are still charged almost 3% on average.
“I expect that Avant Money’s mortgage products will be widely accessible to all sections of society. And it should be noted that their low rate products don’t include some features that are common in the market such as cashback payments and current account discounts," Ms. Fitzgerald concluded.
ENDS
