Written answers

Thursday, 21 March 2013

Department of Finance

Mortgage Interest Rates

Photo of Barry CowenBarry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether reductions in the cost base at the covered banks should allow them to halt their on-going process of increasing its standard variable rate for residential mortgages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14057/13]

Photo of Michael NoonanMichael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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While the Government is acutely aware of the increasing financial stress that some households are facing in the current environment, ultimately the pricing of financial products, including standard variable mortgage interest rates, is a commercial matter for the management and the Board of the relevant institutions. At the same time, the boards and management must ensure that the day to day running of the institutions has regard to competition, market conditions and the need to develop stable commercial enterprises to meet the long term credit needs of households and businesses. It is important that the banks in which the state has an ownership interest are run on a commercial, cost effective and independent basis to ensure their value as an asset to the State, as per the Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policies agreed with the EU Commission, the ECB and the IMF. It must be remembered that in order to fund mortgages the banks must borrow at current wholesale rates which are currently higher than the ECB base rate and must ensure that the rates at which they lend are economically sustainable and provide a return for the banks and ultimately the State as their shareholder.

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