Concerns after rates rise 'misplaced'

IRISH banks will feel less pain from higher interest rates than their rivals in Britain did when the Bank of England hiked rates in recent months, Goodbody Stockbrokers said yesterday.

Goodbody analyst Eamonn Hughes said increased concerns over Irish banks in light of an expected ECB interest rate increase next month were misplaced and "too simplistic."

He cited five reasons why Irish banks would be in a better position to cope with climbing interest rates than those in Britain and said the unimpressive share price performance among British banks, which came about in the wake of higher rates, was unlikely to be repeated here.