Loans For Cars And Home Improvements At Highest Levels Since Before Pandemic

Almost 50,000 personal loans were taken out in the first three months of the year.

Latest figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, show personal loans were up by 28% to 49,236 loans.

The value of personal loans taken out between January and March increased by 25% to €481 million compared to the same period last year.

The value of green personal loans almost doubled to €19.7 million in Q1 2023, an increase of 94.5% year on year. The number of green loans jumped by 82.1% over the same period to 874.

The average green loan is relatively high at €22,486 in Q1 2023, compared with the average for all loans at €9,763.

Chief Executive of BPFI, Brian Hayes, says the report also highlights a surge in green loans.

“We’ve seen a doubling in terms of green loans, and I think a lot of that’s in the area of retrofitting and electric hybrid cars.

“Typically, a green loan is virtually double what it would be for a normal personal loan. A green loan averages about €22,000 across the sector, where other categories, it’s about €10,000.”

The figures also show car and home improvement loans were at their highest levels since before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

15,167 car loans were drawn down in the first quarter of 2023 worth €187 million. These were the highest volumes and values since the data series began in Q1 2020.

The number of home improvement loans rose by 28.7% year on year to 13,950 while the value rose by 17.2% to €147 million over the same period. These were also the highest levels of activity since Q1 2020.