Personal Finance

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European banks chief warns on loans and dividend policy amid ‘deteriorating’ outlook for lenders

Banks need to prepare for tougher times ahead including taking a hard look at both lending for customers and pay-outs to shareholders, a top EU regulator has warned.

EU wants bank transfers to be cheap and instant across the bloc

The EU wants to stop banks charging people extra to make instant payments in euros.

Finance Ireland suspends long-term fixed mortgages as funding costs rise

Finance Ireland has withdrawn its pioneering long-term fixed mortgages from the market in a sign of growing pressure on non-bank lenders from higher funding costs.

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Top tips for saving money this winter as cost-of-living crisis bites

THE evidence is already here. The cost-of-living crisis is impacting on everything from energy prices to groceries and we are all going to find the coming few months harder than usual.

Diesel prices surge again, with the annual cost of filling a family car now over €2,000

The cost of driving a diesel car has shot up again after some respite during recent months.

Hefty new mortgage rate hike to cost many homeowners €600 a year

Mortgage misery is set to intensify for thousands of home owners as a hefty 0.75pc interest rate hike is predicted later this week.

Home buyers warned of ‘financial distress’ if they stretch to new mortgage limits

Home buyers are being warned that rising interest rates mean they are more likely to get into financial distress if they push themselves to new mortgage limits.

‘We’re in our late 60s. Should we take a lifetime loan on our home?’

Q My husband and I are in our late 60s and we were fortunate enough to be able to pay off the mortgage on our home 12 years ago. My husband worked in the public service and has a decent pension but I don’t have a private pension as I worked in the home looking after our three children. Money is getting tight because our energy bills are high, with two of our adult children living at home. I’ve been hearing ads on the radio about a lifetime loan and it’s tempting. Should we take one out to see us through this rough patch?

Sonya Lennon: ‘My best ever investment was a Chanel necklace I bought at auction after a few glasses of wine’

Sonya Lennon is an entrepreneur and fashion designer. Together with long-time friend Brendan Courtney, she presented the RTÉ show ‘Off the Rails’ and set up clothing brand Lennon Courtney, which is currently stocked in Dunnes Stores.

Local property tax valuation concerns are flagged to Revenue officials

A slowdown in property price inflation means homeowners who buy or build a house over the next three years could end up paying a higher local property tax (LPT) than what their property justifies – because the Revenue Commissioners set the valuation date for LPT during last year’s frenzied property market.

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Avant Money loan book grows to over €2.1bn

Avant Money, a consumer-finance company owned by Spanish banking group Bankinter, has reported that the size of its Irish loan book has grown to €2.1bn, bolstered by solid mortgage growth.

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To buy or not to buy: With prices rising and interest rates set to soar, is it still worth climbing on the property ladder?

Is the property market headed for a fall? It’s the hotly debated question around many a dinner table. And if you’re one of many millennials still eating at your parents’ dinner table every evening because the surge in property prices and rents in recent years has locked you out of the market, you’d be forgiven for hoping that prices drop substantially.

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The world won’t sort out your pension, now is the time to take action for yourself

There’s a saying in the insurance industry that the difference between an old man and a retired gentleman is a decent pension. A bit old fashioned, not to say patriarchal, but it’s no less true for that.

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Your personal finance questions – Should I give up my tracker mortgage now that interest rates are rising fast?

Q I am on a tracker mortgage so my mortgage bills have gone up twice since last July as a result of the two European Central Bank interest rate hikes. The interest rate on my tracker mortgage was 1.5pc before the ECB started to increase its rate in July. Now it is almost twice that at 2.75pc. Tracker mortgages have always been considered gold dust but I am now considering fixing my mortgage as I am worried the ECB may increase its rates again in the coming months, which would push my mortgage bills even higher. Would it be a good idea to give up my tracker and fix my mortgage?

Huge interest in Government’s shared equity mortgage scheme

STRONG interest has been registered in the new scheme that sees the State taking equity in homes.

Most employers planning to give staff pay rises next year – Ibec report

THE majority of employers are planning to give their staff pay rises next year, a new report has found.

‘Scrooge-like Christmas on the way’ as cost-of-living pressures bite

THE cost-of-living crisis means Christmas is set to be “Scrooge-like” for a large number of people.

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Explainer: Buyers, builders or banks? Who will benefit from mortgage lending changes

The Central Bank has announced big changes to its mortgage lending rules, the first alterations to the measures since they were introduced seven years ago.

KBC plans to stop charging customers for late payments as Ulster Bank says it will contact account holders about overdrafts

KBC Bank will stop charging for late payments from the end of next month because of overhangs from the closure of accounts, its CEO said yesterday.