So do you think that Bank of Ireland has changed its colour?
I doubt it. If it gives a commitment to stop discriminating against existing customers and treating all customers fairly, then I would be delighted to let them in off the naughty step.
Brendan
I think we're starting to see a trend in which they may have seen the error of their ways - in January 2023 they gave existing customers a better rate change than new customers:
https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2023/01/24/bank-of-ireland-increases-interest-rates-on-fixed-rate-mortgages/ The bank is applying a three-quarter percentage point rise across its range of fixed-rate loans offered to new borrowers, while the fixed rates available to existing mortgage...
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The bank is applying a three-quarter percentage point rise across its range of fixed-rate loans offered to new borrowers, while the fixed rates available to existing mortgage customers are now half a percentage point higher.
I would see this as BOI recognising that existing customers were already paying an inflated rate, so they gave them a lower increase.
In December 2022 you said
BoI has a long history of very high rates for existing customers. I would be delighted if they have changed their policy on this and that they have made a commitment to treating customers fairly.
So a few guidelines 1) Avoid Bank of Ireland, they charge existing customers higher rates than new customers, so you will pay a lot more in the longer term. BOI 5YR Fixed is now 3.25%, does that not make them competitive now vs the others? They only charge existing customers higher rates than...
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I agree they should make a commitment to treat existing & new customers the same - but in practice, that does appear to be what they are aiming for now looking at the past ~1.5 years.
As things stand today (looking 3-5year >80% LTV):
BOI's Existing customer rates
3 Year Fixed LTV >80% | 4.25 |
5 Year Fixed LTV >80% | 4.25 |
BOI's New customer rates
3 Year Fixed LTV >80% | 4.75 (Green N/A) |
5 Year Fixed LTV >80% | 4.75 (4.45 Green) |
5 Year Fixed HVM* LTV >80% | 4.25 (3.95 Green) |
With their EcoSaver offering now being available to all customers, this makes existing customer rates potentially more attractive than new customer rates.
For me, they should still offer the HVM rates to existing customers, and they should tidy up their rates tables, which has a number of overlapping LTVs, some of which are no longer in use.
On the EcoSaver product, strange to still see no information on the BOI site about it, despite the media being informed, all I can find is a YouTube video from BOI which is not heavy on detail.