ECB expected to increase interest rates

MORE than four out of five homeowners will be exposed to the prospect of rising mortgage costs today as interest rates are expected to rise.

The European Central Bank (ECB) governing council meets today and are highly expected to increase interest rates from 1.25% to 1.5%. Such an hike would affect those on tracker mortgages and could also affected those on standard variable rates.

When the ECB last increased rates in April, some Irish banks chose not pass on the hike to SVR (standard variable rate) customers however they could decide to take a different approach today.