Hopes rise for market shake-up

THE prospect of genuine competition in the Irish mortgage market is an elusive hope for thousands of despairing young couples, many of whom now fear, as property prices continue spiralling out of control, they may never achieve the dream of owning their own home.

Two years ago, when Bank of Scotland arrived in the market, they shook up the mortgage scene, saving Irish consumers over €500 million in the process.

Inevitably, the sudden emergence of an even bigger Scottish bank on the mortgage landscape, namely the Royal Bank of Scotland, will rekindle hopes that competition will be further increased through aggressive marketing policies.