AIB defends relief given to mortgage holders

State-owned Allied Irish Bank has defended relief given to mortgage holders and said its customer base is growing and that it is dropping interest rates.

AIB’s director of retail and business banking, Bernard Byrne, made the comments after the bank’s top officials met with Finance Minister Michael Noonan yesterday over calls for mortgage rate cuts.

Mr Noonan has called in the heads of the main banks for talks amid concern that up to 300,000 variable mortgage holders are paying higher rates compared to the eurozone average.