Irish Life & Permanent backs new mortgage scheme
Irish Life & Permanent has agreed to join a consortium of European banks to establish a new system that could offer cheaper mortgages.
The European Mortgage Finance Agency wants to create a pan-European system that would allow the agency to borrow money on the capital markets at a lower interest rate than individual financial institutions.
The new system would benefit customers by allowing them to fix their mortgages for 25 years and face no costly penalties for paying off their loan early.
The scheme, which is based on an existing one in the US, also has the backing of UK bank Northern Rock as well as France's Credit Agricole and Spain's BBVA.
Supporters of a single mortgage market in Europe claim that it would enhance integration between EU economies and improve the efficiency of the mortgage industry.
