Mortgage rate hikes not ruled out as Masding outlines progress to date

Mortgage rate increases have not been ruled out at Permanent TSB, with management saying prices will be kept under review and raised if necessary.

When asked yesterday about the prospects of an increase in standard variable rates, PTSB chief executive Jeremy Masding pointed to one of the group’s priorities of improving its net interest margin to a more attractive level. PTSB carried out a widespread overhaul of its mortgage rates at the end of April.

As anticipated, the company yesterday outlined the progress it has made on the mortgage front in the year to date. Mr Masding said that long-term sustainable solutions have been agreed with around 5,000 of the bank’s mortgage customers — roughly 3,000 homeloan customers and 2,000 buy-to-let clients; and hailed the company’s return to the lending market. The year to date has seen PTSB approve €121m worth of new mortgages.