AIB to double mortgage lending

State-controlled AIB plans to do €2bn in mortgage lending this year, which is double the €1bn target the bank had last year.

In the end, AIB sanctioned €1.5bn in 2012, with €1.2bn drawn down by the end of December. This was a 63% increase on the previous year. The average price paid by a first-time buyer was €160,000.

In 2012 AIB provided 45% of all mortgages in Ireland with an approval rate of seven out of 10 applicants.