The chief executive of the Austrian bank Bawag Group, which is rolling out a mortgage offering in Ireland under the MoCo brand, says it is taking a really slow methodical approach to building its operation here.
Anas Abuzaakouk said the bank is building "a good platform" in Ireland under the MoCo name.
Speaking on a call with analysts today following the publication of the lender's second quarter results, he claimed the bank has a really good team on the ground in Ireland.
"We are just going to be patient, right, we are disciplined," he said.
"We like the macro fundamentals of Ireland in terms of supply demand."
"There’s an acute shortage of housing that we think in due course we are going to be able to hopefully provide financing for our customers for new home creation, being one of the many banks that provides financing there."
Bawag gave no indication in its results of the performance of the MoCo unit though.
Mr Abuzaakouk said the lending volumes at this point are "very de minimis".
"And we will start to reflect what those volumes are in due course, when it makes sense," he said.
"But at this point it is a rounding error."
MoCo soft launched here in November of last year and is initially working with a small number of independent brokers.
MoCo was set up four years ago to develop a mortgage lending platform and was previously linked with An Post's entry into the mortgage market.
Bawag bought MoCo for a small amount last year, having bought the Irish based Depfa Bank in 2021.
Aidan Sherry, a former AIB executive, is managing director of MoCo.
MoCo currently offers fixed rates only over periods of either three or five years, with rates varying from 4.6% to 4.75% depending on the loan to value ratio.
Bawag Group reported a first half profit of €342.1m, with net interest income of €621.5m.
