Personal loan activity for cars, home improvement, green issues and special occasions all reached record highs in the second quarter, new data from the banks shows.
The latest personal loan report, which is issued on a quarterly basis by representative group Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), details the volume, values and uses of personal loans drawn down from banks.
The report shows loan values were up by 17.6 per cent to €754 million compared with the same period last year, while volumes were up by 16.9 per cent to 70,958. These were the highest quarterly levels since the data series began in 2020.
The average personal loan value rose by €60 year-on-year to €10,620.
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The number of car or auto finance loans rose by 13.1 per cent to 20,131, while the value of such loans increased by 15.8 per cent to €260 million. The average car loan was €12,905, up from €12,605 a year earlier.
There were 17,740 home-improvement loans, up by 10.3 per cent. These were valued at €228 million, 12.5 per cent higher than the previous year. The average home-improvement loan value was €12,823, up from €12,568.
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Other loans, which included money for education, holidays and special occasions such as weddings, totalled 33,087. This represented a rise of 23.5 per cent in volume. Values rose by 24.3 per cent to €266 million, while the average value increased from €7,997 to €8,049.
The value of green loans, which are loans drawn down for environmental reasons such as retrofitting a home or buying an electric car, rose by 24.4 per cent to €39.3 million. The number of green loans rose by 30.5 per cent over the same period to 1,635.
The average green loan was relatively high at €24,051, more than twice the average of €10,620 for all loans in the same quarter.
BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said the figures indicate a “sustained increase in demand” for personal lending in the quarter, achieving the highest quarterly loan activity levels on record across all categories.
“Notably, car or auto-finance loans exceeded 20,000 for the first time since the data series began in 2020,” he said. Mr Hayes noted the largest jump was seen in green personal loans, albeit from a lower base.
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“Comprising green car and green home-improvement loans, these loans rose in value by 24.4 per cent to €39.3 million and by 30.5 per cent in volume to 1,635, the highest activity levels since the green-loan data series began in 2022,” he said.
“We also saw the average green loan increase by €1,118 year on year to €24,051, more than twice that of the overall average personal loan value of €10,620.”
Reflecting more broadly on personal loan activity since the start of the year, Mr Hayes said lending levels have increased significantly since 2021.
“Looking at the first half of 2025, there were 131,728 personal loan drawdowns, valued at more than €1.4 billion – more than double the volume and value in the same period of 2021,” he said.
“These figures come as the Central Bank of Ireland reported that medium-term household loans – over one year and up to five years – exceeded €12 billion in outstanding value by the end of September, 2025, the highest level since October, 2012.”
