Hail the mortgage rate

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan is as mad as hell and he's not going to take it any more. It emerged this week he has given the banks "weeks" to bring down their vastly inflated variable mortgage rates, or he will do it for them.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal's blog this week reported on the recent financial disclosures of US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. Potus has a mortgage with the first lady of between $500,000 and $1 million on their Chicago home.

The rate? An eye-watering 5.625 per cent, well above the average refinancing rate of 3.97 per cent.

The US federal funds rate is 0.12 per cent, so Obama’s rate represents a chunky margin above the bank’s costs. The Irish banks charge between 4.1 per cent and 4.9 per cent, compared to the ECB base rate of 0.05 per cent. Mr President should call up the Minister to ask him how it’s done.