"Central Bank briefs Michael Noonan on research into mortgage rates"

[Brendan Burgess]

Is this the same Central Bank that persists in telling us that the average rate for new business is 3.15%?

I have no idea why the Central Bank has been publishing misleading mortgage rates despite knowing that they are just plain wrong. I suspect it's pure incompetence but it could be because it suits them to hide the real level of interest rates, so that the lenders will be more profitable and build up better reserves.

 

[Agent 47]

I suspect the latter part is more the truth. The Central Bank don't do incompetence, I suspect they were aware of the actual rates and given trackers are no longer offered here but ably went along with the usual stats. No doubt the DoF were informed and had them keep to the usual format.

There is politics to everything. Funny and then again for those of us with SVRs not very funny at all is the sudden interest in SVRs when we are near an election by our Government. It suits them now to be on the side of the public haven ridden us for the last 7 years.

 

[Sarenco]

The meeting between the Minister and the Governor re SVR mortgage rates looks like political tokenism at its worst to me. Reminds me of the "down with this sort of thing" Father Ted sketch - totally ineffective but at least everybody can pretend that they are doing something worthwhile.

On the second point, I would genuinely welcome an explanation as to why people think that the Central Bank are not simply complying with their legal reporting obligations under the applicable ECB MFI interest rate reporting regulations.

Is it not obvious that the extent of unresolved defaulting loans in Ireland is the primary reason why the cost of credit (including SVR mortgages) is so high?

 

[Agent 47]

Sarenco, Paddy plays ball and pays the highest price (paddy prices) for the cost of infidelities but the Greeks and for that matter other EU countries would not bow to this high SVR which is an outlier in Europe. The French, Germans and the Greeks would have lynched the politicians years ago for this imbalance in the rates.

 

[Sarenco]

Sarenco, Paddy plays ball and pays the highest price (paddy prices) for the cost of infidelities but the Greeks and for that matter other EU countries would not bow to this high SVR which is an outlier in Europe. The French, Germans and the Greeks would have lynched the politicians years ago for this imbalance in the rates.

You may well be right but what does that have to do with whether or not the Central Bank's statistical reporting is in accordance with ECB regulations?

FWIW I agree that SVR mortgage rates in Ireland are ridiculously high. It seems obvious to me that the reason for these high rates is primarily due to our reluctance to require lenders to enforce their security where loans are in default. There is no such thing as a free lunch.