Jargon Buster

The fee charged by some mortgage lenders to process a mortgage.

This is the unique number given to your bank account (see IBAN).

The amount of the mortgage loan the bank releases to you.

The total rate of interest earned within a year, no matter how often interest is added to your account.

The total cost of the credit to the consumer, expressed as an annual percentage of the total amount of credit.

The most common type of mortgage. Each monthly repayment is made up of a figure to cover the original loan amount (capital) plus the interest charged to the mortgage account. Annuity mortgage can also be called capital and interest mortgage.

The amount of money you have in your account at any given time.

Bank fees may be charged for transactions on your account like lodgements and withdrawals as well as for ongoing maintenance of your account. You may also be charged for additional services on your account like bank drafts or ordering duplicate statements.

This is a unique number that identifies your bank (also known as SWIFT code or sort code). You’ll need this code (and your IBAN) to send and receive international payments.

You may have to pay breakages costs if you break the terms of a fixed interest rate loan agreement.

A financial advisor who offers advice on products available from a range of lenders.

All days, except Saturday, Sunday or public holidays. This is when we’re open for business.

This is a mortgage for a property that the borrower rents out to tenants as a source of income and investment.

This is an amount saved, invested or borrowed before interest or loss is calculated.

A written notice to a bank to pay either yourself or someone else.

This is the security for a loan. In the case of a mortgage loan for example, the property being purchased is considered the collateral for the loan.

This index measures the average cost of goods and services bought by consumers.

The difference between the amount you borrow and the total you repay (including interest) at the end of the loan term.

This is money a bank pays you in return for the deposit of funds.

A rating lenders put on borrowers and banks based on their credit worthiness.

This is where a bank checks your credit history with a credit reference agency. The results of a credit check may affect your ability to get credit.

A bank account used to hold money you need on a day-to-day basis. Your current account is typically where your salary is lodged, where you withdraw cash from an ATM, pay for things using a debit card or by writing cheques, make payments by standing order or direct debit, and transfer money to other accounts.

This is a card linked to your bank account that allows you to pay for items at point-of-sale terminals or to withdraw cash at ATMs.

This is the amount you pay to borrow money and is added to the loan.

A sum of money invested in savings products or an amount paid to a seller when exchanging a contract to buy a property.

This is a type of interest-earning savings account.

Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) is a tax deducted from interest earned on deposit accounts held by Irish account holders. The DIRT rate is set by Revenue and is subject to change. (Check out www.revenue.ie for the current rate).The Bank deducts DIRT from the interest it pays to customers and pays it to the Revenue. Where the customer meets certain conditions interest can be paid without DIRT. (Check out www.revenue.ie for more information.)

This is money a bank pays you in return for the deposit of funds.

Any decrease in the value of a property.

This is a service for making payments from your bank account, for example to pay bills automatically each month.

An initial discount off the original interest rate.

This is the central bank for the euro.

This is the difference between what a property is valued at and the amount you owe on your mortgage.

This is a fund that invests in stocks based on an agreed investment policy.

If a borrower defaults on their mortgage and the property is sold to repay debts, the mortgage lender will be the first party to receive any proceeds of the sale.

This is an interest rate that does not change for a specified length of time.

This is where you deposit funds for a set period of time.

This is a type of savings account that lasts for a set length of time during which the interest rate does not change.

This is where professional fund managers manage investments on behalf of investors.

The total interest earned on savings before DIRT is deducted.

A person other than the borrower who guarantees loan repayments.

A type of insurance that protects your home against damages to the property and, in most cases, the contents as well.

This is the unique number given to your bank account (see account number).

This is an indicator that measures price movement in financial markets or the economy.

This is where adjustments are made to wages based on changes in indexes such as the consumer price index.

This is the rate of increase of the price of goods and services. When prices increase, the amount you can buy with your money decreases unless you earn more than the rate of inflation.

A payment to and/or from an account outside the Republic of Ireland in any currency or a payment to and/or from an account in the Republic of Ireland in a currency other than in euro.

The act of investing money with the goal of making a profit.

The collection of assets owned by an individual, group or company.

This is where stockbrokers and traders can trade shares and other securities listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

An account opened in more than one name, for example with a husband and wife or business partners.

This outlines the conditions of a loan and is sent to the borrower once a mortgage application has been approved.

This is the size of a mortgage loan in relation to the value of a property.

An amount of money paid into your bank account.

A long-term loan used to buy property. The loan is usually secured against the borrower’s property.

The length of time specified to repay your mortgage loan.

A type of professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase stocks and shares.

This unique number identifies a bank and branch for domestic payments.

When the value of a property is less than the mortgage owed.

The amount of interest you receive once DIRT has been paid. See gross interest and DIRT.

Being able to make banking transactions via the internet. Check out our online and mobile banking services.

An agreement with your bank that allows you to spend more money than you have in your account.

Where investment managers take a passive approach to managing the fund. They use portfolios that are structured to provide returns to track a market index e.g. the ISEQ.

A person who receives a payment.

A person who makes a payment.

This covers your repayments on a loan, mortgage or credit card if you suffer from an accident, illness, death or redundancy.

Your secret four digit number used with your credit or debit card when making a purchase or taking money from an ATM.

A loan for personal use like buying a car, making home renovations or paying for a holiday. It is usually unsecured and based on your ability to repay.

Where a number of investors invest different amounts of money in a fund that’s used to buy assets including stocks, shares and properties.

The sum of money borrowed from the lender, not including the interest.

When a mortgage loan is paid in full, including interest and all charges. This usually happens when someone moves to another property or when the end of the mortgage term is reached.

These charges apply when cheques, withdrawals, direct debits or standing orders are presented for payment on your account and, when paid, put the account in an unauthorised overdraft position.

A process whereby the mortgage loan due to one mortgage lender is repaid by a new mortgage loan issued by a new mortgage lender, usually also requiring a new mortgage over the property.

This allows a borrower to spread monthly repayments over a shorter number of months, for example, 10 months instead of 12, or to postpone repayments for a specified time, for example three months.

A property not occupied by the owner but used to generate profit through rental income and/or capital gains.

The amount of interest earned on any money invested or saved.

The possibility that an investment will not deliver as much return as expected or hoped for.

With a same day value electronic payment service, you can make a payment in euro to another bank account in participating banks in the Republic of Ireland to arrive on the same day.

An account where you can save money and earn interest.

An asset(s) that you have guaranteed to a bank or lender as security for repayment of a loan. The lender can claim this asset if you default on your loan repayments.

SEPA is a single, transparent payment market for domestic and international euro transactions. Individuals can make an electronic payment to any recipient in the SEPA zone from their bank account using the BIC and IBAN numbers to identify the recipient's account.

A percentage of the mortgage loan is set at a fixed interest rate, and the remainder at a variable interest rate. If the interest rate changes only repayments on the variable portion of the mortgage will be affected.

A variable interest rate set by the lender that may change at any time.

An instruction from you to your bank to pay a specified amount from your account at regular intervals to the account of a specified payee.

A record showing lodgements and withdrawals on your bank account.

This is mortgage interest relief given at source by your mortgage provider, either in the form of a reduced monthly mortgage payment or a credit to your funding account.

The agreed period of time for you to make full repayment of a loan.

Legal documents proving ownership of a property.

An additional amount of money lent to a borrower, increasing the amount owed on an existing loan.

An additional mortgage loan lent to a borrower on the same mortgage security.

A mortgage set at a fixed percentage above the European Central Bank interest rate.

Cheques, drafts or other non-cash items drawn on other financial institutions lodged to your account are shown in the balance of your account although the bank has not received value for them. Until the bank receives value, these items are known as uncleared effects and you may not be able to withdraw these funds until they are cleared.

If you withdraw funds from your account for which your bank has not received value (i.e. a cheque has not cleared), you may be subject to uncleared interest being charged on the amount you have withdrawn.

A survey requested by a lender to determine the value of a property.

This is an interest rate that can change at any time.

This is an interest rate that may rise and/or fall over the borrowing term.