Mortgage hit ahead as borrowers face painful end of their fixed rates

With up to 70,000 customers coming to the end of their deals, there will be a repayment shock in store for many

By the end of last September, when rates plateaued, 47,325 Irish mortgages were in arrears. Photo: Getty

Sinead Ryan

With interest rates mooted to begin reducing possibly as early as the June meeting of the European Central Bank, ordinary borrowers may find it takes a bit longer for things to filter through from Frankfurt to their home loan.

Of the three types of mortgage – tracker, variable and fixed rate – only tracker customers will see an immediate reduction in their monthly outgoings, and it will be marginal. Banks will argue that the ‘pass through’ to customers, as it’s termed, was low at the time rates started rising in mid-2022.