Bank of Ireland announces initiatives to accelerate housing supply

New lending product to support homeowners trading down
New partnership to develop mentoring programme for small home builders
Proposal for a housing finance forum to share market insight from public and private sector

Bank of Ireland has announced a range of initiatives to support new housing supply. These actions were informed by the deliberations of a group of private sector representatives – drawn from homebuilders, equity investors, representative bodies, and select professional services – and convened by Bank of Ireland. The group considered actionable ways in which the private sector can accelerate housing supply in a responsible manner.

Recognising the challenges for homeowners who wish to move to a home better suited to their needs, Bank of Ireland will pilot a new lending product to support homeowners trading down. Available to all homeowners whether they are existing Bank of Ireland customers or not, this product will launch in early Q1 2026. The Bank is also exploring other product innovation focused on supporting expanding families to trade up to a larger property.

The group of private sector representatives also discussed the optimal mix of financing solutions for homebuilders to scale up activity across multiple sites and the important role of equity finance. In response, Bank of Ireland considered equity capital solutions to further support homebuilding which was discussed with the Government in advance of its recent housing action plan.

While there is positive individual engagement between policy makers and parts of the private sector, the group also noted that a more structured dialogue directly between senior officials and private sector leaders on the issue of finance would be productive. Bank of Ireland has written to the Government to propose a regular housing finance forum where senior officials and private sector leaders can exchange insight, discuss latest market developments, and provide feedback with the goal of working together to sustainably increase home building.

Separately, Bank of Ireland will also join other national banks in collaboration with Government bodies, to work with smaller home builders to create a mentoring programme. The objective of the programme will be to support smaller developers to professionalise and scale up their businesses to ensure the development of a sustainable and vibrant home building sector in Ireland.

Myles O’Grady Group CEO at Bank of Ireland, said:

“The issues impacting housing supply are multifaceted and include a range of well-aired matters such as planning, zoning and the availability of serviced land. While these are outside the direct control of the private sector, we hold an important piece of the solution – financing for the construction of homes. This is why we invited a group of senior private sector leaders to come together to examine any steps that haven’t been taken to date, and consider any specific blockages that might be removed. I would like to thank all who joined this group and took part in its discussions.

“These discussions informed the development of new interventions and ideas that could significantly enhance the financing landscape for home development and ownership. Having considered the challenges faced by homeowners who need to move to a property better suited to their needs, we have designed a very practical solution to pilot with our customers. This new product can help support the better use of existing housing stock in the market and we will continue to explore other options.

“Bank of Ireland is supporting home building in a wide range of ways. This includes the provision of equity finance and we will continue to work with partners to explore new equity solutions.

“Banks have a significant role to play in driving housing supply, which is a key societal and economic priority for the country. We will continue to play our part in helping solve this issue and challenge ourselves to do more.”

ENDS

Note to editor:

Details on Trade Down Lending Product

Launching in early 2026 and structured like a traditional bridging loan, Trade Down will support customers moving to a smaller property. Funds released will enable the outright purchase of the new property in advance of the sale of the current home. Both properties will serve as security, with the sale of the existing property clearing the borrowing and any interest accrued within 12 months. Maximum borrowing amount at drawdown will be 60% of current valuation and the loan rate is 7% variable.
A dedicated phone line has been established for customers to register an interest in this pilot which is expected to launch in early Q1 next year – 0818 200434 which is available 9am to 5pm.

Bank of Ireland supports for housing and home building:

1. Debt financing – €1.3bn committed from a total €2.5bn available

Bank of Ireland has an available debt fund of €2.5 billion to support homebuilding. Today, approximately €1.3bn of that fund is currently committed or approved. Funding is also recycled as debt is repaid by customers. The Bank is very active in seeking opportunities to support housing development across Ireland. The Bank works with all types of home builders, from small SMEs to large publicly traded companies, and supports the full range of housing types across private, social, and affordable tenures.

2. Equity financing – €45m committed in total

Equity financing has become an important part of the funding landscape for home construction in the past decade. Most home building projects use a blend of both debt and equity financing as a way to manage risk. Equity financing is also important for developers that wish to progress activity on multiple sites at the same time or to move quicker between sites. Recognising the expanding role for equity financing, Bank of Ireland supports two different equity funds currently in the market.

Pearl Residential Equity Fund (PREF) which has total committed funds of €46.5m. Bank of Ireland’s original contribution to the fund was €15m.
Irish Homebuilding Equity Fund (IHEF) has current committed funds of €76m. Bank of Ireland is the only bank involved with a commitment of €30m.

3. First Home Shared Equity Scheme

The First Home Scheme (FHS) is designed to boost both housing demand and supply by helping first‑time buyers and eligible applicants bridge the affordability gap when purchasing a newly built home. As the scheme is available for newly constructed homes or apartments, it creates a pool of eligible buyers, encouraging developers to bring forward additional projects. Bank of Ireland has been an active supporter of the First Home Scheme since launch in 2022. To the end of Q3 2025, Bank of Ireland customers have accounted for c.46% of the 4,118 homes supported by the scheme since it began.

4. Capital markets services – to attract international investors into Ireland

Davy, part of Bank of Ireland Group, is Ireland’s leading provider of capital markets services to corporates. It provides access to capital, investors, and market intelligence for the Group’s home building clients. Engagement between institutional investors, national financial services firms, and these significant homebuilding companies is extremely important. Earlier this year, Bank of Ireland was also a key sponsor of Ireland’s pavilion at MIPIM, the international property investment conference in France. This supported the country’s first ever presence at this key event, which is attended by investors from across the globe.

5. Support for social and affordable housing and the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Sector

Bank of Ireland’s dedicated social housing team strongly supports AHBs, the Land Development Agency, and other market participants by providing debt and capital market solutions advice, leveraging expertise in Davy, with the goal to diversify sources of capital for social and affordable housing. €1bn fund is available for social and affordable housing.

Housing market stakeholders include:

Jason Byers, Head of Residential, Ireland – Kennedy Wilson
Eddie Byrne, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director – IRES plc
Patrick Durkan, Chief Executive Officer – DRES Properties
Pat Farrell, Chief Executive Officer – Irish Institutional Property
John Feeney, Chief Executive Corporate and Commercial – Bank of Ireland Group
Marian Finnegan, CEO Sherry FitzGerald Group
Stephen Garvey, Chief Executive Officer – Glenveagh Properties
Alan Hartley, Director of Home Buying – Bank of Ireland Group
Myles O’Grady, Group Chief Executive – Bank of Ireland Group
Sean O’Neill, Managing Director – Park Developments
Michael Stanley, Chief Executive Officer – Cairn Homes plc
Margaret Sweeney, Independent Non-Executive Director – Bank of Ireland Group