Standards authority to view mortgage ad
The EBS advert promotes the building society’s Familyfirst mortgage that targets parents who want to help adult children buy a home.
The EBS will allow parents to borrow against the value of their own home to raise a deposit for their children, but the mortgage has been widely criticised by parents.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received two complaints yesterday and they’ve asked the EBS for a copy of the TV advert.
“We’ll decide then if there are grounds for an investigation.
“A large number of people find this ad offensive and they seemed worried about it,” ASA Chief Executive Ed McCumiskey said.
There is legislation that prevents advertisers from targeting children if it leads to kids pestering their parents to buy a product. However, the rule is unlikely to cover the EBS ad, said Mr McCumiskey.
The ASA can fine advertisers and demand that an ad is altered or pulled.
“If we had serious problems with an ad we would investigate it immediately, but this case is less straightforward,” Mr McCumiskey said.
The advertising campaign was launched on Monday and EBS is already processing hundreds of inquiries about the financial package.
“We realise that this is not for everybody but there has been a lot of positive interest.
“We’re addressing a social issue, and when you do that, there will always be controversy,” said EBS marketing chief, Pat Farrell.
The Familyfirst package was created after research showed that young adults had difficulty raising cash for a deposit and were slow to ask parents for help.
Parents with mortgages must transfer loans to EBS to avail of the offer and repayments can be deferred for the first three years.
Parents without mortgages can take out one with EBS and use their property to secure the loan.
Interest on these parental loans is charged at 3.4%-3.6% in the first year and at the standard variable rate of 4.1% from year two.
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