Personal loans soar despite interest rate hikes, lenders say

The value of green personal loans soared by 95% compared to the same period last year and almost doubled to €20m

More than 15,000 car loans were drawn down, worth €187m in March quarter, BPFI report found.

Personal loan drawdowns surged in the first three months of the year despite interest rate hikes introduced to suppress borrowing and drive down sticky inflation.

A new report from the the business group representing banks showed the number of personal loans jumped almost 28% in the first three months of the year from the same period last year, and reached a value of €481m, an increase of 25%.