EBS to discontinue 3 and 5 year fixed rates

EBS had an advertisement in yesterday's Irish Times (and probably other newspapers) which listed their latest rates and omitted any fixed rates at all.
 
They have done an about-turn on the 5 year rate since Monday by re-introducing it, don't think they really thought it through. Sounds like EBS all over who are challenging to deal with at the best of times. I fixed a mortgage on an inv. property with them a few weeks ago at 4.99% for 5 years and they are now offering 5.65% for a 5 year fix. They're not really interested in competing any more with the best buys out there- makes you wonder what their game plan is?
 
i have gotten a 3 year fixed with them, approval was agreed last week and the rate is 5.14%.

am i getting that only because the approval was agreed prior to this being introduced?
 
They are still listing 5 and 10 year fixed rates [broken link removed].

Is the rate of 5.14% an APR or a nominal rate (the former is more meaningful when comparing loans)? Are you sure that this rate still stands and is not affected by the recent ECB rate increase and any changes to rate outlook?
 
ClubMan said:
They are still listing 5 and 10 year fixed rates [broken link removed].

Is the rate of 5.14% an APR or a nominal rate (the former is more meaningful when comparing loans)? Are you sure that this rate still stands and is not affected by the recent ECB rate increase and any changes to rate outlook?
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While APR is a very useful tool with variable rates and can factor out some of the hidden costs I personally think they tend to mislead a little when it comes to fixed rates.

As far as I can see most APR's for fixed rates end up being lower than the nominal rate because the APR is calculated using the fixed rate for the fixed term and the (usually) lower standard variable rate for the remainder. In what I would guess would be a fairly typical scenario of say a 2-5 year fixed rate and say a 20 year term (and thats probably conservative these days) the weighting is heavily skewed by the variable rate being applied to the balance of the term.

If I am fixing what is important to me is what is the cost to me over the fixed term only and whether that is worth paying for peace of mind. The notional variable rate which would apply over the balance is irrelevant since it will apply in both instances (assuming one doesn't fix again). APR's tend to flatter fixed rates and hide the true costs of fixing.

However they might still be of relevance when comparing two fixed rates for the same term from different institutions (though variations in their variable rates could presumably still skew the figures.)
 
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