Mortgage interest rates 'to remain high', Central Bank figures show

Ireland's mortgage interest rates will likely remain among the highest in the eurozone if a proposed bill preventing banks from selling customers' homeloans without borrower approval is passed into law, a financial services representative group has said.

Latest Central Bank figures show Ireland to still have the second highest interest rate on new mortgages in the eurozone, at 3.03%. The average new mortgage rate in the eurozone is 1.77%. Only Greece has a higher rate than Ireland among countries which have the euro as their currency.