Some KBC home loan customers, especially those on fixed-term rates, are quite exercised about the forthcoming transfer of their mortgages.
They are all commercial organisations whose raison d’être is to make money out of their customer while keeping their costs as long as they can. The only thing really holding them back in either of these pursuits is competition from rival banks that keeps a lid on loan interest rates and a floor under the number of people or services that they withdraw.
What we do have though are rules set in place by the regulators to ensure that customers are treated in a fair manner. And those rules state that whatever the terms and conditions of your mortgage under KBC, those will have to be replicated by Bank of Ireland, which is taking over the Belgian bank’s performing loans — i.e. ones like yours that are in order with no unaddressed arrears and regular payments being made in line with the terms of the loan.
The one thing that has stuck in the craw for many KBC mortgage holders is that they feel are being held to account on honouring the letter of their mortgage contract while KBC seems able and intent on walking away from its side of the bargain. To put it as you do, KBC is holding us to our terms or it will impose a break fee while they can cut and run without any recognition to us.
However, it appears there are options open to you. Following a piece a couple of weeks ago about the wisdom — and cost — of breaking a fixed-term KBC contract and locking into a longer-term mortgage before interest rates rose on the back of the ECB move, a reader was in touch with me. He said that he and other family and colleagues were all KBC fixed-term mortgage holders with several years left on their terms.
Interesting 🤔 KBC mortgage AskKBCIreland