New BOI 'EcoSaver' Mortgage

[unknowninsider]

Great to see some broadly focussed product innovation emerging across the market.

Bank of Ireland reworks green mortgages to offer discounts down to energy rating G

Customers with a home carrying a Building Energy Rating of A would qualify for a 0.35 percentage point cut

www.irishtimes.com

 

[Okokokoknic]

The new so-called ecosaver mortgage will replace its current green mortgage offering effective from April 18th for new business or existing customers who move to the new product from another one with the bank, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Time to take BOI off the Best Buy naughty step?

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Time to take BOI off the Best Buy naughty step?

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

 

[peemac]

Maybe they can have one foot off the naughty step -

"From 18 April also, Bank of Ireland’s standard variable rate for owner occupiers will be a single rate of 4.15pc."

 

[mustang01]

Great to see some broadly focussed product innovation emerging across the market.

Bank of Ireland reworks green mortgages to offer discounts down to energy rating G

Customers with a home carrying a Building Energy Rating of A would qualify for a 0.35 percentage point cut

www.irishtimes.com

Just a shiny new name for their existing Green Mortgage from what I can see. Nothing new or special.

 

[Okokokoknic]

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:

Bank of Ireland increases fixed rates again (Jan 2023)

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...

www.askaboutmoney.com

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.

Is the recommendation to avoid Bank of Ireland still justified?

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...

www.askaboutmoney.com

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

Variable LTV >80%

4.75

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)

Variable LTV >80%

4.75

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.

 

[Corola]

Just a shiny new name for their existing Green Mortgage from what I can see. Nothing new or special.

The new and special part is every BER rating is charged an individual rate. The Green Mortgage is only one rate for B+. This is unique in the market.

 

[Setforlife]

Just a shiny new name for their existing Green Mortgage from what I can see. Nothing new or special.

It’s definitely very new if existing customers can benefit, we’ve been planning a switch when fixed rate expires just for this reason. The best rate available to us was 3.65 green rate with haven/aib. With a Cashback covering switching fees. This may have reduced now with 0.2 more aib rate cuts coming. On the face of it BOI would now almost match that rate for us, and we’d just move onto it. We will wait it out until September either way when we roll off the 2.9 rate, in the hope we might see further reductions.

 

[Setforlife]

Confirmed that our rate with haven/aib would now be 3.45, presume boi needed to do something as that would have left existing boi customers at least .55 better off moving to aib.

 

[Setforlife]

Story in independent on how they are still not actually giving existing customers same deal as new, never not at it. Can’t combine the high value and eco saver rates the way new customers can. This actually applies to us,I though we could get 3.6 with boi but appears it’s 3.8, so .35 worse than AIB.

Existing Bank of Ireland customers missing out on over €700 a year as they can’t get its lowest mortgage rate

Existing Bank of Ireland customers will not be able to benefit from the lender’s lowest mortgage rate, which it is offering to new customers.

www.independent.ie

 

[Setforlife]

And another independent story that aib are offering 3k Cashback now, up from 2k. That combined with having the cheaper rate makes moving to them a no brainer really (for people who can get a green rate)) as switching fees will be fully covered.

 

[smndly]

So my understanding is that they are completely ignoring LTV from now on and just looking at BER? Seems very surprising given that LTV generally correlates with risk. Fairly sure high LTV often >100% was the root of a lot of issues in the crash at the end of the celtic tiger so it is a bit concerning that this is now ignored!

They have also removed cashback for variable rate mortgages.

 

[Setforlife]

I guess they are finding it’s not as big an issue as it once was. Or at least that the ‘risk’ of the LTV or the mortgage itself doesn’t equate to interest rates, the rates are based on competition (or lack of) above all else. I.e once they decide to lend, the risk should be the same across mortages.

We’ve a very low loan to value now which I guess is common on switchers with house prices continuing to rise, and in the last few year it never comes up with main banks and searching for say <50% rates doesn’t yield any results.