Statement by SVR Mortgage Campaign
Although this is only a token reduction, it is still welcome. The AIB Standard Variable Rate at 3.9% is still 1.7% above the average Eurozone rate of 2.09%. After these cuts, a borrower with a mortgage of €200,000 with AIB is still paying around €3,400 a year or €300 a month more than they should be paying.
After these rate cuts, AIB’s cheapest rate in the Republic is still 0.6% higher than its cheapest rate in Northern Ireland. A borrower in the Republic with a mortgage of €200,000 is paying €1,200 a year more for being on the wrong side of the border. (AIB’s cheapest rate in the Republic is now 3.6% for an LTV of less than 50%. An AIB customer in [broken link removed] with less than 60% LTV is paying 2.99%. )
Even at this much lower rate in Northern Ireland, AIB is not competitive. A borrower with an LTV less than 65% can get a
tracker from
HSBC at 2.49% (Base rate + 1.99%). A customer of HSBC in Northern Ireland is paying €2,200 a year less than a customer of AIB in the Republic. And the HSBC rate is a tracker rate. These much lower rates are due to competition.
The significance of the AIB rate cut is that it shows that public pressure works. We call on all borrowers on variable mortgage rates to keep up this pressure by attending a public meeting on the SVR issue next Thursday , May 7th at 7.30 pm in the Ballsbridge Hotel.
We also hope that this rate cut will act as a catalyst for a round of rate cuts from the other banks whose fleecing of Irish customers is even more ruthless than AIB’s.
Michael Hughes
Brendan Burgess
Sara Hogan
Notes for editors:
The High SVR Campaign is organising a public meeting as follows:
· Thursday May 7th
· 7.30 PM
· Ballsbridge Hotel (Formerly Jury’s)
The purpose of the meeting is:
- To continue to highlight the very high rates
- To discuss the political and legal options for bringing down the rates
- To get ideas from the borrowers themselves as to how we can push this campaign
The speakers will be: Sara Hogan who spoke at the permanent tsb AGM
Michael McGrath whose Private Members motion gave the campaign a real boost
Brian Hayes who has been raising the issue with the ECB and in the European Parliament
Ross Maguire SC who will speak about the legal options for challenging the very high variable rates.