Time to allow Central Bank to control mortgage rates

Most of the mortgage lenders have now announced rate cuts in response to their meeting with the finance minister.

Before these cuts, the average variable rate for new mortgages was around 4.2%. Afterwards, it has probably fallen to 4%.

The average rate for new mortgages in the eurozone is 2.02%. So, instead of overpaying by 2.2%, we are overpaying by 2%. Welcome as it is, it’s only tinkering. The Irish banks are continuing to fleece the 300,000 non-tracker mortgage holders because they can.