AIB may follow other banks and allow transfer deals on trackers

AIB chief executive David Duffy has confirmed that the bank is considering a tracker mortgage deal for homeowners who wish to move home and retain their low tracker interest rates.

Mr Duffy said in Limerick yesterday that the bank was considering following moves by Permanent TSB which is close to signing off on a new deal that would allow families moving to a new home to keep their tracker rate for the rest of the loan period.

Earlier this week it was reported that Bank of Ireland will let people moving house keep their trackers for five years if they move.

When asked if AIB was planning to offer a similar lifeline to customers with tracker mortgages Mr Duffy said: “We are looking at the same thing . . .

“We are looking at a range of options. We are not rushing into it because we start out with the principle that a tracker is a contractual entitlement. We will not vary or try to adjust or try to manage that in any way.

"Facilitate flexibility"
"Any offer we have is designed to facilitate flexibility and volume in the marketplace and it can only when designed be implemented in such that it does not disadvantage the customer in anyway."

AIB could “rush something out for market reasons so people feel better” but it would instead wait to design and test it properly. He said the bank expected to have agreed proposals with the regulator within “the next few months”.

When asked if people would be allowed to move house and keep their tracker mortgage, Mr Duffy said nothing had been decided and all options regarding trackers would be examined. He was in Limerick yesterday as part of the bank’s programme to meet staff and customers across the country.

Central Bank report
Asked about a report by the Central Bank which found that only a quarter of owner-occupiers in arrears of three months or more had had their mortgages restructured by lenders, Mr Duffy said he was not surprised.

However he insisted that AIB would “meet or exceed” a target set by the Central Bank which would see 50 per cent of mortgage holders in arrears issued with restructuring offers by the end of the year.

“We, on our performance to date, expect to be able to meet or exceed those targets.”

Mr Duffy said over the past year AIB has built an organisation of 2,000 people whose “purpose in life” is to specifically work on mortgage and SME arrears.