Cash-strapped homeowners were tonight warned the era of low mortgage interest rates was ending, with hikes an unfortunate but inevitable consequence of risky lending by banks.

AIB’s stockbrokers breached money laundering rules but did not break the law by share deals using firms based in offshore tax havens, it was claimed today.

Auditors who checked the annual accounts of Anglo Irish Bank should have spotted secret multi-million euro loans, Financial Regulator Patrick Neary said today.