Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 18 January 2018

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

Tracker Mortgages: Central Bank of Ireland

9:30 am

Mr. Ed Sibley:

In the market today, a customer can choose to take out a mortgage on a fixed rate for five years or to be on a variable rate. Who knows what the circumstances will be in three to four years? Interest rates might go up, in which case it will benefit the person who has chosen the fixed rate as opposed to the person with the variable rate. Alternatively, interest rates might go down. There is a degree of choice in that regard. As long as it is informed and transparent, it is not an issue.