EBS increases share of mortgage market

EBS Building Society has said its share of the retail mortgage business has grown by 5% to 18.5%.

The society’s share of the important first-time buyer market has also grown by 5% in the first half of 2009 according to figures from the Irish Banking Federation.

EBS said it had seen a surge in mortgage applications in the three months to the end of June.

"We are seeing strong growth in application levels over the course of the first two quarters of this year - application levels in the second quarter of the year are 45% more than in the first quarter," the Society said in a statement today.