AIB hikes mortgages for second time this year

AIB's latest increase will lift the interest rate of a mortgage fixed for up to two years for a typical first-time buyer, who is taking out a loan for up to 80% of the value of the property, to 4.15%. 

AIB has hiked the interest rates it charges its fixed-rate mortgage customers for a second time since the European Central Bank started increasing its official rates this summer, and other mortgage lenders are tipped to follow suit in the coming weeks.

The increase of 0.5% for new fixed-rate borrowers will effectively apply after Christmas because new mortgage borrowers can still tap the existing rates by January 16, said AIB.