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Appearing before an Oireachtas Committee at the end of 2016, the then chief executive of Bank of Ireland more or less admitted that the bank was deliberately keeping its variable mortgage interest rate elevated. Richie Boucher was making a big push at the time to get people to opt for one of the bank’s fixed […]

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said that Ireland will be vigourously making the case for tax competition and for maintaining a corporate tax rate of 12.5%. In negotiations on the issue, Minister Donohoe said he is confident that Ireland will continue to be a really attractive place to do business. Yesterday, Mr Donohoe said that […]

The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) now expects to provide an overall surplus to the Exchequer over its lifetime of €4.25 billion, up from the previous estimate of €4 billion. The body will provide a further payment to the exchequer of €300m this month and it hopes to make an additional contribution of €500m during […]

The European Central Bank has raised its growth and inflation projections for this year and next as the euro zone economy started to roar back to life after over a year of restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic. ECB President Christine Lagarde also said the ECB saw risks to growth as “broadly balanced”, a shift […]

The Central Bank’s Director General, Financial Conduct, has said that increasing evidence in the financial services sector shows that ineffective culture is bad for business – both for a firm itself and the consumers or investors it serves. Derville Rowland was speaking at an Institute of Directors webinar today. Ms Rowland said that firms are […]

A combination of lack of housing supply and rising construction costs could exacerbate property affordability issues in the years ahead, according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. In its latest Housing Market Monitor, the BPFI says while supply is coming back on stream in the aftermath of the pandemic, it will now likely be […]

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath has said the Government would like to see people return to the workplace as soon as possible, but for now it is about holding on to the gains already made. Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, he said it is too early to say if […]

The number of people claiming temporary Covid-related jobless benefits fell by 8% to 285,000 this week, its lowest level since December last year, new figures from the Department of Social Protection show today. Non-essential retail, hotels and outdoor bars and restaurants have reopened in recent weeks following their closure in late December during a spike […]

The euro zone economy contracted by much less than expected in the first quarter of the year, revised data from the EU’s statistics office showed, with a buildup of inventories and investment offset by reduced consumer spending. Eurostat said gross domestic product in the 19 countries sharing the euro contracted 0.3% quarter-on-quarter for a 1.3% […]