Ulster Bank raises fixed mortgage interest rates with immediate effect

Fiachra Gallagher

Ulster Bank is raising its fixed rate mortgage interest rates by between 0.4 and 0.9 per cent, effective immediately.

As part of its withdrawal from the market, Ulster Bank had previously announced it was no longer accepting applications for mortgages from customers from June last year.

Variable mortgage rates are not increasing, while loyalty variable rates are being removed from sale.

The rate increases impact “our two, four and seven-year fixed rate mortgages,” Ulster Bank’s managing director designate of personal banking Philip Duff said. “If customers have any queries our mortgage team are available for support and further information,” he added.

The bank previously raised its mortgage rates in November last year.

In February, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a number of increases for interest rates as part of efforts to tackle soaring inflation.

According to figures from the Irish Central Bank, increases from the ECB are having a knock-on effect in Ireland, raising the average interest rate to 2.69 per cent in December last year from 2.57 per cent in November.

Despite this, the Irish figure remained below the Euro zone average of 2.95 per cent — the highest the rate has been since at least August 2017 and over double the rate from this time last year.