Latest news with #BankingandPaymentsFederationIreland
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Female participation at board level in finance rises to 43%
Female participation at board level in financial services has increased from 30% to 43% over the past three years, according to the annual report of Ireland's Women in Finance Charter. The third annual report was compiled by the ESRI in collaboration with Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, Financial Services Ireland (part of Ibec), Insurance Ireland, and Irish Funds. The Government-supported initiative seeks to improve female representation at all levels in financial services firms in Ireland. Average female representation at board level is now 43.4% compared to 30.3% three years ago when firms first signed up to the initiative. Women at CEO level now represent 22.6% of participant firms, compared to 19.4% when the charter began three years ago. Signatories to the charter commit to setting targets for increased female representation. In January 2025, there were 100 signatory firms to the Charter, which accounted for over 72,000 employees, representing over half of all employees in the financial services sector. Barriers to equal female representation remain, including low turnover rates in senior positions, fewer female job applicants, the specificity of key skills and experience required, and childcare costs and availability. "The figures in the latest Ireland's Women in Finance Charter report represent strong progress amongst participating firms in a short space of time," said Financial Services Ireland director Patricia Callan. "A maximum of three years has passed for firms signing up in 2022, and only one year for firms signing up in 2024, which demonstrates tremendous proactivity amongst members in driving gender balance at these levels. 'We introduced the charter because we know that it's the right thing to do for business. It is our role to continue pushing for increased female participation at all levels in the financial services sector and wider economy.'
RTÉ News
20-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
First time buyer property and mortgages rise significantly
One in three first time buyer (FTB) homes were valued over €400,000 in 2024, three times the 2019 share, according to the latest BPFI mortgage report. The Mortgage Market Profile Report H2 2024, by Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows that there has been a significant increase in FTB property and mortgage values between 2019 and 2024, as well as an increase in mortgage repayments and incomes. This latest report in the series, looks at the profile of borrowers, their loans and property types on a national and regional basis. For first time buyers the median property value rose by over €100,000 between 2019 and 2024, up 37% to almost €372,000. During the same period the median mortgage value increased by €78,000, or 36%, to almost €294,000. While the median basic household income for first time buyers increased by 22% from €70,000 in 2019 to €85,000 last year. There was also an increase in the share of higher value mortgages, over €300,000, which doubled to 44%. The share of lower value mortgages, up to €200,000 more than halved to 21%. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland BPFI CEO Brian Hayes said the increasing house price inflation is no great surprise because we have too many people chasing too few homes. "It highlights the kind of pressures that the first time buyer is in, where on average they have to get a lending position just short of €300,000 and on average they're buying a House of about €370,000. "Now the other side of that is, of course, that over the same five year period the average increase in first time buyer incomes is up about 22%., so you have this kind of perfect storm, a lot of people chasing too few houses, incomes rising and the economy at full tilt. "And I think there are particular issues for first time buyers, which I think everyone recognizes." The Central Bank has this week revised downwards its forecast for how many homes will be built this year ( to 32,500) and over the following two years. Mr Hayes noted that the banks are fundamental to the financing of not just mortgages, but also to the financing of development finance, adding that a third of all the homes built in the last two years have been built by the Irish banking sector in terms of development finance. "What's critically important is that we get international capital back, the big difference in the last two years has been the the fall off in international capital. "My message is that international capital goes where its welcome and it stays where it's well treated and it wants to see consistency. "I think the international capital that is critical for apartment development, the banks play a big role in that, not only do we take part of the lending position there, but we also act with international capital, because we have distribution models, we know the economy and we know the sectors. "International Capital Partners with the banking sectors here in Ireland and we need that partnership up and running again and I hope the certainty that the government have now given on the rent pressure zone will help that international capital to come back to the country."
Irish Independent
12-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Demand for housing is now the second highest in Europe with prices surging
Close to one in five consumers in this country are looking to rent or buy, the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland said, quoting European Central Bank statistics. Demand for housing in this country is now the second highest in Europe, after the Netherlands. The banking lobby group said 17pc consumers in Ireland, or almost one in five, report that they were looking to rent or buy. This is according to the February 2025 ECB Consumer Expectations Survey. More than one in four renters were looking for accommodation. And a fifth of those with a mortgage were actively looking for new housing. Banking and Payments Federation chief executive Brian Hayes said the strong demand for housing, especially among first-time buyers, was also evident in the fact that 17,144 applications were received by the Revenue Commissioners for Help-to-Buy scheme in the first four months of this year. This is almost 5,000 more than in the same period of last year. But supply is failing to come near to matching demand. Only one in 10 owner-occupiers said they were 'rather likely or very likely' to sell. The latest Housing Market Monitor Q1 2025 from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) also shows that housing commencement numbers for the first four months of 2025 are only around 40pc of those in 2023. They are now at similar levels to those seen in 2016, a fact that means it could be years before the housing crisis eases. ADVERTISEMENT Planning permissions declined by over 21pc between 2023 and last year, the banking lobby group's report shows. Mr Hayes said Ireland has seen substantial population and employment growth in the past decade. With that has come a sharp increase in housing demand, during a period where the supply of housing has fallen behind, he said. 'We know that Ireland's population increased by around 735,000 people between 2014 and 2024, while in the same period employment increased by nearly 739,000,' Mr Hayes added. 'Meanwhile, housing completions in Ireland declined in 2024 for the first time since 2013, excluding the period between 2020 and 2021, when the pandemic affected activity significantly.' He said that on a rolling 12-months basis, a total of 30,356 units were completed to the end of March 2025 compared with 31,681 units during the 12 months ending March last year. But at the same time there continues to be strong demand for mortgages, with 9,190 mortgage drawdowns in the first quarter of 2025, valued at €2.8bn. 'Updated housing requirements must be incorporated into the planning system as soon as possible,' Mr Hayes added: Central Bank figures show that mortgage rates eased slightly in April, the third month in a row. And the largest servicer of mortgages on behalf of vulture funds, Pepper, has promised more rate reduction for the 'mortgage prisoners' trapped with it.
Irish Examiner
29-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
First-time buyers fuel rise in mortgage approvals
A total of 4,705 mortgages were approved in April this year, marking an almost 5% rise compared to the previous month. New figures released by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) found that first-time buyers made up more than 62% of total approvals, while mover purchasers accounted for 18%. On an annual basis, the number of mortgage approvals rose by almost 6% compared with April last year. Mortgages approved last month were valued at just over €1.5bn, of which first-time buyers accounted for 64% and mover purchasers for 21%. The value of mortgage approvals rose by just over 5% month-on-month and by 13.6% year-on-year. Meanwhile, re-mortgage/switching activity rose by 53.5% in volume terms year-on-year and rose by 74.8% in value in the same period. Commenting on the publication of the latest data, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: 'The latest mortgage figures show continued growth in approvals in April 2025, with volumes up by 5.8% year on year and values up 13.6% over the same period. "There were 2,922 first-time buyer approvals valued at almost €1bn in April, the highest April levels since the data series began in 2011. "While the volume of mover purchase approvals fell by 5.9%, the value of those approvals rose by 0.7% to €317m, the highest April level since the data series began.' 'In annualised terms, 31,853 first-time buyer mortgages valued at almost €10bn were approved in the twelve months ending April 2025, the highest activity levels since the data series began." The value of mover purchase approvals also reached a new high at almost €4bn over the same period, BPFI figures found. 'We can see from today's figures that lenders are supporting more and more first-time buyers, which points to a healthy pipeline for lending in the coming months," Mr Hayes added. However, first-time buyer housing demand is also growing, as evidenced by the 14,554 applications for Help to Buy in the first three months of 2025. This is up from 9,991 in the same period of 2024.'
Irish Independent
25-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Major push needed to boost foreign and domestic tourism after significant drop, report warns
While nearly 1.1 million foreign residents visited Ireland in the first quarter of 2025, this is down from 1.4 million visitors during the same period last year. The data, showing a 300,000 decrease in visitors, comes from the latest 'SME Monitor' published by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). The report highlighted that there is potential for balanced growth in the tourism sector but cost pressures and price increases are presenting risks. Brian Hayes, chief executive of the BPFI, said: 'Given that global trading conditions are likely to deteriorate, and Ireland's reliance on foreign direct investment, these efforts will be critical to ensuring that growth is more balanced and not overly reliant on unpredictable international trends.' Last year, Ireland welcomed 6.6 million foreign resident visitors who spent an estimated €8.2bn, including on travel fares, up 12pc from 2023. 'Given their importance to the economy, this trend in foreign visitors should be monitored closely, but domestic tourists also make a crucial contribution. 'Irish residents spent an estimated €3.6bn on domestic travel in 2024, an increase of 15.3pc year-on-year,' Mr Hayes said. He noted that 80pc of tourism businesses in Ireland expected stable or increased visitor numbers this year. 'Although cost pressures along with continued increases in prices could risk Ireland's affordability and competitiveness in the tourism sector in the future,' he said. Mr Hayes said that overall, the SME Monitor report found that the economy was 'performing well' this year to date. Central Statistics Office (CSO) estimates show that Irish gross domestic product (GDP) is up 13.3c when compared with the same quarter last year. 'However, most of this growth was driven by multinational exports,' Mr Hayes said. He explained that this is largely due to front loading, particularly to the US, by multinational firms reacting to tariff threats by the new US administration. He added: 'It is encouraging to see that with the publication of the new Tourism Policy Framework for the period to 2030, there are new efforts to boost business tourism and year-round domestic travel.'
