Mortgage holders to be hit by all main banks

HOMEOWNERS can expect the main banks to follow Permanent TSB’s lead and hike interest rates, pushing up the cost of mortgages for thousands struggling to meet monthly bills.

Chief executive of the Irish Banking Federation Pat Farrell said he has no doubt other lenders will find themselves in the same situation as Permanent TSB, which hiked rates by 0.5% last week.

“We have to get to a situation where banks can rebuild their balance sheets. That’s in everybody’s interests, including their customers,” he said.