Irish mortgage lenders may increase rates 'in tandem with ECB' this year

Banks may delay raising mortgage rates until they have absorbed 'orphaned' customers from KBC and Ulster Bank, ratings firm said

Irish banks have long had higher mortgage rates than their eurozone counterparts.

Irish banks may no longer be slow in raising mortgage rates in tandem with the European Central Bank, when rivals Ulster Bank and KBC Bank have finally closed their doors, ratings firm DBRS Morningstar has said. 

DBRS said the entry of fintech companies, the exit of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank, a large deposit funding base, and Irish mortgage rates that were already "much higher" than rates elsewhere in Europe, may explain why mortgage pricing in Ireland has not kept pace with ECB rate increases.