Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 28 September 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Permanent TSB and KBC Bank

9:45 am

Mr. Jeremy Masding:

The biggest challenge for us as a team in macro Ireland is the lack of housing supply, and the lack of housing supply associated with what I call good demand. There are many creditworthy borrowers to whom we would like to lend money. Housing supply is the biggest issue for us. As a result of that, the country is experiencing house price inflation. By definition, therefore, a home sold in 2015 is more expensive today. That is why the average balance has increased. We have not changed our credit standards. Of course, at the edge the Central Bank of Ireland, CBI, slightly changed its criteria and that is an associated factor. The answer to the question is first, housing supply, and second, the CBI. The third point I continue to reiterate is that our group is committed to lending based on affordability, not on belief around an asset.

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