Mortgage lender PTSB is reducing interest rates by close to half a percentage point on some of its fixed-rate loans, with both new and existing customers set to benefit.
The bank said new rates, which are effective from today, will see reductions of up to 0.45 of a percentage point, with the largest cuts in its higher loan-to-value products.
The rate reductions will apply across the bank’s three, four, five and seven-year fixed rate products, and will range from 0.15 to 0.45 of a percentage point, depending on loan to value and length of the term.
For example, a seven-year fixed-term mortgage with a loan-to-value of 80 to 90 per cent will see the rate fall by 0.45 percentage points to 3.60 per cent.
Rates on green mortgages are being lowered by up to 0.2 of a percentage point.
Customers who have not yet drawn down their fixed-rate mortgages and those who are at the pre-approval stage will benefit from the new lower rates.
PTSB recently announced it would cut interest rates on home energy upgrade loans.
Dermot Ryan, head of bank products and pricing strategy at PTSB, said the bank was fully committed” to providing increased choice for customers.
“The new lower fixed-rate mortgages should help first-time buyers and provide more options for those seeking rate certainty for longer terms,” he said.
The move will come as a relief to homeowners who had anticipated rates might be moving higher.
Earlier this month, ICS raised fixed home loan rates by as much as 0.45 of a percentage point, stoking fears of a fresh wave of hikes for Irish homeowners. But that was quickly followed by Bankinter-owned Avant Money, cutting rates by up to 0.35 of a point.
Competition in the coming months may also force rates lower, with Revolut expected to enter the Irish mortgage market, even as analysts anticipate that the next European Central Bank move might be to raise rates again. However, no move on ECB rates is expected in the short term.