Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

KBC vs AIB

  • 29-02-2016 12:24am
    #1
    tendjose
    Registered Users Posts: 295 ✭✭


    Hi,

    I want a mortgage and heard that going for KBC is a risk because the bank is smaller than AIB and is based in Belgium (not Ireland), so in case KBC goes to bankruptcy, they will increase their customers rates abruptly to make money.

    Can this happen with KBC? I'm not very sure about the "Begian" thing because if they work in Ireland is because they have their founds here in Ireland right?

    Thanks


Comments

  • #2
    JTMan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,541 ✭✭✭JTMan


    The risk of KBC going bankrupt is very low.


  • #3
    BuffyBot
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,924 ✭✭✭✭BuffyBot


    KBC is a large Belgian based bank with operations across many countries.

    KBC Ireland is a subsidiary of KBC which is an Irish bank, registered here, regulated here etc. It's market share in Ireland is small, but if you factor in it's parent it is many times larger than AIB.


  • #4
    MortgageBroker
    Registered Users Posts: 60 ✭✭MortgageBroker


    The credit risk of a bank shouldn't be your primary concern, the rates available ought to be as well as how they treat their existing borrowers (some will offer all rates to all clients, others will offer rates to only new clients). If a bank goes bang and you are on a fixed rate that contract will stand until it runs out, if you are on a variable rate you could face a rate hike if the new buyer decides to increase rates but often they buy the asset at a discount anyway so rate hikes that go with it are generally not penal.

    That said, if the bank did go out of business (and it doesn't seem likely by any means), you could move your loan elsewhere assuming you have the equity to do so at the time, which if you took the loan out today on a fixed rate would seem a reasonable assumption (that at the end of the fixed rate you'd have built up some equity via repayments).


Advertisement