Group to offer fixed home loans

HOMEOWNERS could soon be able to fix their mortgages for 25 years, pay less and face no costly penalties for paying off their loans early.

Irish Life and Permanent is one of a number of European banks behind a new consortium, the European Mortgage Finance Agency (EMFA), which wants to market US-style long-term, fixed-interest mortgages that could be refinanced as interest rates change.

Rob Thomas, general manager of EMFA said the move could reduce the cost of mortgages by 0.25% to 0.4% and abolish the need for redemption penalties.