No ECB rate cut for owners of affordable homes

UP to 10,000 homeowners on affordable housing mortgages will not benefit from the latest cut in interest rates.

The European Central Bank (ECB) lowered rates by a quarter of a percentage point on May 7 but the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), the state-owned company that lends money to local authorities, is not planning on passing on the cut.

A person with an average mortgage of €250,000 at a variable rate of 3.55% over a 35-year term will now miss out on monthly savings of almost €36.