Archive for February 2021

New research by the ESRI has found further evidence that mortgage lending rules put in place by the Central Bank six years ago are helping to keep house price inflation down.  The study by author Kieran McQuinn found that there remains a strong mutually reinforcing relationship between the availability of mortgage credit and house prices here.  He…

Consumer sentiment bounced back in February thanks to cautious optimism about the outlook for the economy, despite the prospect of Covid-19 restrictions lasting for many more months, a survey found today. The country has been back in lockdown for almost two months and the Government has said any reopening will be very gradual. The hospitality…

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said it is too early to say if the negotiations between Permanent TSB and NatWest turn out to be successful on the possible purchase of a loan book.  It follows the announcement of the phased withdrawal of Ulster Bank from the Republic of Ireland last Friday. While Mr Donohoe…

For well over a decade, we’ve been hearing talk on and off about the need for a third banking force in Ireland. The notion gained legs in the wake of the banking crash, when Ireland was left with two dominant banks in AIB and Bank of Ireland and a multitude of less significant players, like…

The Special Committee on Covid-19 Response will meet later today as the updating of the Government’s plan on Living with Covid continues ahead of its publication this week. Caution is a key word from Government ahead of the publication of its strategy to deal with this phase of the pandemic. It is a plan that…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office figures show that consumer prices posted an annual fall of 0.2% in January compared to a drop of 1% a month earlier. This marked the slowest rate of year-on-year decline in nine months.  On a monthly basis, the CSO said that consumer prices rose by 0.1% in January…

The economy will “bounce back” sooner than many people think, the Tánaiste has told the Dáil, but he added that the pandemic will leave “many scars” including lost jobs and livelihoods as well as lost lives.  The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment said new financial supports will be put in place in the second…

Ulster Bank has announced a phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland over the coming years that will be managed in an “orderly and considered manner”.  The bank, which is owned by UK lender NatWest, has 1.1 million customers here, along with 2,800 staff in 88 branches around the country.  Its Northern Ireland unit, which also…

The Central Bank has contacted a number of insurers on resolving relevant business interruption claims in a ‘proactive and speedy’ manner. It comes as the bank continues its supervisory examination of business interruption insurance issues and in the wake of the recent judgement from the High Court against FBD. The court ruled in favour of…

Bank of Ireland is to refund tens of thousands of its mortgage customers after it discovered that it had overcharged them. Around 35,000 accounts were impacted by the error that arose when repayments were miscalculated by the lender. “This meant that they were paying on average 80c extra each month and the average total reimbursement…