General Home Improvement

• Borrow from €300 to €65,000
• Choose to repay over 1 to 7 years
• Choose to repay weekly, fortnightly or monthly
• Defer your first three monthly repayments and pay nothing for 90 days. This is only available to customers who repay monthly.

APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate

General Home Improvement Loan Variable Rate

1.0 Interest Surcharges
1.1 If you do not pay the Bank a Repayment Instalment or other sum of money by the date you were due to pay it, the Bank will charge you a default interest rate of 0.600 % per month or part of a month (which is 7.20% per annum) on the unpaid sum. The Bank will charge you a minimum of €2.54 per month or part of a month.
1.2 The Bank will apply the default interest rate from the date on which you were due to pay the sum until the date on which you pay it to the Bank.
1.3 The default interest rate:-
1.3.1 is charged by the Bank in addition to the normal interest which it charges you and is payable by you at the same time and in the same way as that normal interest;
1.3.2 accrues before and after any judgement the Bank obtains against you;
1.3.3 may be changed by the Bank at any time by giving you notice; and
1.3.4 is liquidated damages to compensate the Bank including for the additional risk and for administration and other costs which arise from a customer's failure to pay the Bank a sum when due.
2.0 Interest
2.1 The Repayment Instalments are calculated by the Bank on the basis of payment at regular agreed intervals. If the due date for a Repayment Instalment falls on a non-business day, then the Repayment Instalment may be paid on the next succeeding business day. Additional interest may accrue in such cases.
2.2 The Bank will calculate interest on the daily balance outstanding (after adjustment is made for cheques in the course of collection).
2.3 The Bank shall compound interest on the Loan at such quarterly or other periodic intervals as the Bank shall in its discretion determine.
Variable Only
If the borrowing rate of interest is a variable rate, the following clauses 2.4 to 2.11 apply;-
2.4 The Bank may vary the interest rate on the Loan up or down at any time or times during the period of the Loan at its discretion.
2.5 If a Reference Rate is specified or otherwise applies to the Loan at any time (a) the Bank may vary the Reference Rate up or down at any time or times during the period of the Loan at its discretion; and
(b) the interest rate will vary automatically to reflect any variation up or down of the Reference Rate.
2.6 Without prejudice to Clause 2.4 and 2.5 above, the interest rate is normally determined by the Bank by reference to prevailing market rates, the period and purpose of the Loan and the risk associated with the Loan.
2.7 Any variation in the interest rate may be accommodated at the discretion of the Bank by way of:
(a) an adjustment to the amount of one or more of the Repayment Instalments set out in the Important Information; or
(b) an adjustment to the number of Repayment Instalments; or
(c) an adjustment up or down (as appropriate) in the amount of the final Repayment Instalment; or
(d) repayments which will continue after the Period of the Agreement has ended until the Loan is repaid in full.
2.8 If a Reference Rate is not specified or if a variable rate applies to the Loan under Clause 2.10.2, the Bank will notify you in advance of interest rates changes in accordance with the European Communities (Consumer Credit) Regulations 2010.
2.9 If a Reference Rate is specified or otherwise applies to the Loan at any time:
2.9.1 the Bank will display the current Reference Rate on its website and in its branches;
2.9.2 you agree the Bank may notify you in advance of changes in the Reference Rate by way of notice in a daily or weekly Irish newspaper;
2.9.3 the Bank will set out details of the rate of interest which applies to the Loan in your regular Loan account statements.
2.10 The Bank reserves the right to do the following if a Reference Rate applies to the Loan:-
2.10.1 to give the Reference Rate a new name or code; or
2.10.2 to amalgamate or replace the Reference Rate with another Reference Rate of the Bank which is equal to or less than the Reference Rate at the time of amalgamation or replacement; or
2.10.3 to replace the interest rate which applies to the Loan with a variable rate which is not based on a Reference Rate but which is equal to or less than the interest rate which applies to the Loan at the time of replacement.
2.11 The Bank will notify you in advance of any change provided for in Clause 2.10. In the case of a change provided for in sub-clauses 2.10.1 or 2.10.2, the Bank may notify you by a notice in a daily or weekly Irish newspaper.
Fixed Only
If the borrowing rate of interest is a fixed rate, the following clause 2.12 applies; -
2.12 The interest rate applicable to the Loan is fixed for the period of the Loan. The rate has been determined by reference to prevailing market rates (but is not linked to movements in such rates), the risk associated with the Loan and the period and purpose(s) for which the Loan is being made available.

• Can I apply online or by phone?
• Which should I go for - a variable or a fixed-rate loan?
• Can I take a break from repayments, or reschedule them over a longer period?
• Are there penalties if I pay my loan back early?
• How many years can I repay the loan over?
• How much will the monthly repayments be?
• Do I need to have savings or a guarantor to take out a loan?
• Are there any extra charges?
• What does optional Payment Protection cover?
• What does it not cover?
• Am I eligible for Payment Protection?
• How much does Payment Protection cost?
• What is my Internal Reference Rate?

Can I apply online or by phone?

Yes you can apply online click here, call 1890 365 100 or drop into any Bank of Ireland branch

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Which should I go for - a variable or a fixed-rate loan?

These are the main differences between them:

• Fixed-rate: A fixed rate loan means that when interest rates are rising, the repayments on your loan will not change. The repayments are worked out at the beginning and never change. That way, you can budget and know exactly how much you will pay over the term of your loan
• Variable rate: A variable interest rate moves up and down to reflect changes in the financial market. Changes in the rate do not affect what you pay each month, but rather how long it will take you to repay your loan. If the interest rate drops over the term of the loan, you will repay the loan sooner. If the rate goes up, it may add an additional repayment or two.

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Can I take a break from repayments, or reschedule them over a longer period?

You can opt to:

• Defer your first three monthly repayments, paying nothing for 90 days
• Choose to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly

Deferred payment options are only available to customers who repay their loan monthly. Deferred payments are spread over the term of the loan and must be applied for and agreed by us prior to drawdown.

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Are there penalties if I pay my loan back early?

You may have to pay charges if you pay off a fixed-rate loan early.

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How many years can I repay the loan over?

Choose the repayment term that suits you. You can spread your repayments over any period up to five years for most loans, or up to one year in the case of a Holiday Loan.

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How much will the monthly repayments be?

It really depends on how long you choose as a repayment period. The shorter the term you choose for your loan, the higher the monthly repayments will be. The longer you take to repay, the smaller your monthly payments.

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Do I need to have savings or a guarantor to take out a loan?

With Bank of Ireland loans you don't need to save with us to borrow from us. As long as you can show that you're able to make the repayments, we'll organise a loan to suit your needs. Parental Indemnity may be needed in some student lending cases.

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Are there any extra charges?

With our Personal Loans there are no arrangement fees, deposits or "balloon" repayments.

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What does optional Payment Protection cover?

Payment Protection information can be found here

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What does it not cover?

Payment Protection information can be found here

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Am I eligible for Payment Protection?

Payment Protection information can be found here

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How much does Payment Protection cost?

Payment Protection information can be found here

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What is my Internal Reference Rate?

On 10th June 2010, the Consumer Credit Regulations came in to effect. If your loan was taken out, on or after this date, Bank of Ireland will have applied a reference rate to your loan. Reference rates are only used for Variable rate loans and if we make a reference rate change, we will notify you through the daily newspapers.

If you look at your Credit Agreement, which was issued by your Branch you will notice three rates quoted on the page. They are:

Borrowing Rate: The borrowing rate is the interest rate that applies to your loan.

APR: Is the annual percentage rate applied to your loan and it describes the interest rate for a whole year (annualized), rather than just a monthly fee rate. For the purpose of calculating the APR , it is the total cost of the credit including charges such as PPI on a Loan

Reference Rate: The reference rate is an internal rate which the Bank use in determining the borrowing rate on the loan. It includes the cost of funds to the Bank, administration costs for the set-up and maintenance of the loan etc.

If you wish to find out the current rate of the Reference Rate on your loan, please click here.

Download Terms and Conditions (PDF, 128kb)*

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