Central Bank

The latest news, analysis, and comment concerning the Central Bank, Ireland’s financial services regulator

Budget 2025 will cost €10bn and make you roughly €1,000 richer. But it’s not all sorted yet

The projected €10 billion plus package of permanent and temporary measures is expected to put up to €1,000 in the pocket of the average worker

State set for equivalent of another Apple windfall in coming years

Deadline for consensus on OECD plans for taxing of multinationals has come and gone

Proportion of Irish homes in mortgage arrears at lowest level since the end of 2009

Just 39% of residential mortgage accounts in arrears in June held by banks, with the rest held by non-bank entities, Central Bank says

State must build 52,000 homes a year to address housing shortfall, says Central Bank

Central Bank warns further fiscal stimulus would boost inflation

Ireland’s housing requirement keeps getting bigger and bigger

Central Bank becomes latest to call for 50,000-plus homes a year

Card spending increases amid summer getaways

Central Bank data shows increased spending in airports and outside Ireland

Credit unions want easier lending rules amid strong mortgage demand

Mortgage lending jumped 10% across the Irish League of Credit Unions’ membership base in the third quarter

Annoyed by banks’ bumper profits? It’s on you if you’re still giving them money for nothing

Banks are getting 3.75% on your savings with the Central Bank and paying you an average of 0.13% in a demand deposit account

Public sector unions call for RTÉ-style multiannual funding

Seen and Heard: AIB and Bank of Ireland dividends; Cairn Homes deal in Bray; investment giants pushback against the Central Bank; Paddy Power racing remarks

Axa Irish premiums to hit €2bn as it gets nod to underwrite Laya policies

Largest general insurer in the Republic acquired the second largest player in health cover market last year in €650m deal

Central Bank warned ‘over-regulating’ funds could backfire

Sector says overly aggressive action could prompt shift of financial assets into unregulated vehicles

Low earners should pay some income tax, say economists

Summer school told ‘very low or no tax rates on low income’ is a policy choice that would be very difficult to reverse

Car insurers should prove they are passing reduced claims costs on to motorists, says Sinn Féin’s Doherty

Car insurance premiums have increased by more than 8% in the past year, CSO figures show

Spotlight on Central Bank’s vetting process should lower risk of groupthink

Over more than a decade, the regulator has received 50,000 applications to approve individuals for key positions, approving 11,000 in the past four years alone

Number of home buyers opting for fixed-rate mortgages drops

Central Bank’s latest retail interest rate figures show fixed-rate contracts constitued two thirds of mortgage contracts agreed in May

Irish wage growth hits 4.3% in June

The study from Indeed and the Central Bank of Ireland shows wages remain higher than the pre-pandemic average of 2.5 per cent in 2019

Number of homes in arrears falls after consecutive quarters of increase

A total of 29 private homes were taken into possession by lenders in the quarter, of which 15 were on foot of a court order

Gabriel Makhlouf sees just one more ECB rate cut this year

Central Bank governor said he is 'pleased' with latest data showing inflation in the 20 Eurozone countries slow to 2.5% in June

Election budgets are not always giveaways

There is a long history of governments tightening spending even as an election looms

Chambers faces balancing act in first budget

The models suggest no need for a giveaway budget. Will the new finance minister listen?

Switching rate increases for mortgage borrowers at non-lending service firms

Central Bank-published study finds rate at which lower-risk borrowers are leaving non-lending service firms has been higher than the switching rate away from retail banks in recent months

Bank of Ireland lines up senior executive Gavin Kelly as Davy CEO

Bernard Byrne, who took charge of the business in 2021 and oversaw its sale to Bank of Ireland, announced his intention to leave the firm last year

Pension fund assets hit five-year high as member numbers also rise

Central Bank data says average Irish occupational fund is now worth just over €80,000

Central Bank tells Government directly to change budgetary stance

Financial regulator warns Coalition it would not be appropriate to continue with an expansionary fiscal stance over the period 2024-2026

Mortgage rules spark war of words between Central Bank and ESRI

ESRI claims regulator’s move to relax rules has fuelled house price growth and lifted loan-to-income ratios back to Celtic Tiger levels

Makhlouf fires back at ESRI over mortgage rules criticism

Think tank had called central bank’s move to ease mortgage limits ‘premature’

Irish mortgage rates fall marginally in April

Interest rates attached to home loans are expected to fall over the coming months as ECB reduces headline rates

From crisis-era mandarin to State’s first directly-elected mayor, who is John Moran?

The former lawyer, banker and at one time the State’s most recognisable civil servant has been elected the country’s first directly-elected mayor in Limerick

There is one thing that will make Irish banks move on rates, and it’s not Simon Harris

Ireland’s politicians could not resist a bit of bank-bashing in an election week

With almost 100 regulators, are there too many watchdogs in the State?

Some regulatory bodies believe their underpinning legislation has fallen behind advances and developments in the sectors they oversee

WeWork opens for business at One Central Plaza

Central Bank’s former Dame Street headquarter office gets new lease of life as flexible workspace giant finally takes over

Central Bank rules will make cost of mortgage incentives clear to consumers

Compliance professionals say toughening up of 12 year old consumer protection code is very timely and much needed

Central Bank to set up ‘sandbox’ programme for fintechs to test new products

Regulator does not plan to offer firms any derogations or waivers from regulatory requirements

‘Ireland is good in a crisis but can’t manage success’, says crisis era mandarin

Former secretary general of the Department of Finance John Moran is standing as a candidate to be Limerick’s first directly-elected mayor

Don’t believe the Government spin, we will never get our bank bailout money back

The State did not invest in AIB, it was forced to bail out the system with borrowed money. Any decision to sell its remaining shares must be informed by investment logic not just ideology

Passing up the chance for a risk-free return on your savings is madness

Simply by moving money to notice accounts or fixed term deposits, you can improve your return by up to a factor of 30

Card data suggests it’s not all doom and gloom in the hospitality sector

Central Bank figures show card spending on social activities such as entertainment, dining out and memberships is growing faster than overall average

Makhlouf warns on risk to financial system from non-bank sector

Central Bank of Ireland governor speaking in Washington in advance of International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings

Total loans outstanding to credit unions rose 12% to €6.3bn last year

Representative bodies have appealed to the Central Bank for a number of changes to credit union lending framework

Number of Irish mortgages in arrears increases slightly in final quarter of 2023

Overall increase driven by rise in number of principal dwelling house mortgage accounts in arrears for less than one year

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