In the latest edition of Money Doctor 2016 there are four Tips for the Top – innovative, competitive or leading edge products or services that deserve special mention and have my endorsement as something that will sit well in your armoury to better manage your money. Over four weeks, I will highlight one each week. For this third week and in no particular order is KBC Bank – The bank of YOU…
Over the last three years, KBC Bank Ireland has been bucking the trend in Ireland, embarking on an exciting expansion of its products and services. The Bank now has fifteen retail banking hubs and is committed to expanding its retail presence by working closely with brokers and intermediary partners
College Green is KBC’s flagship hub, featuring interactive touchscreen technology and instant access to a full suite of digital brochures and apps. The Bank’s parent, KBC Group, is one of Europe’s largest banks and is headquartered in Brussels with over 37,000 employees worldwide. KBC has a long legacy in Ireland for over 40 years and provides a full range of personal banking services to customers. With 850 employees and growing, KBC is dedicated to working in partnership with customers to ensure their financial needs are met.
Currently KBC has a number of market-leading, innovative products and services:
MORTGAGES
KBC has always been recognised for its attractive mortgage offering, as one of the leading providers of fixed and variable rate mortgages. First-time buyer, mover and remortgage options are available. KBC Bank Ireland enhanced its range of competitive mortgage options for new and existing customers and increased its existing cash offer of €1,000 towards legal fees to €2,000 for those that switch their mortgage.
KBC also offers a ‘Tracker Mover’ mortgage product, which allows qualifying home owners to purchase a new property and retain their existing tracker mortgage for the remaining term. The product facilitates existing mortgage customers moving to a new home to carry their existing tracker rate and is suitable for those in negative equity who can transfer the negative equity portion on the former property to their new home.
KBC has an attractive suite of options for first time buyers which include:
- Up to 90% finance
- Up to 35 year term
- Approval in Principle in Minutes
- A competitive range of fixed and variable rates
- A range of flexible mortgage options
DEPOSITS
KBC offers a highly competitive range of products for all savings habits with features including interest upfront, flexible deposits and withdrawals on demand.
Alongside its extremely popular fixed term and demand savings products, KBC also offers a broad range of structured deposits products designed to provide an attractive alternative to meet customers’ saving and investment needs. These structured deposit products offer customers a risk-free solution to their short and long term savings needs by enabling them to manage their risk exposure for a given level of potential return.
- Demand accounts:
- minimum € 3,000 and maximum € 100,000 per person, Limit of €1,500,000 + on the Standard Demand
- accessible anytime
- Smart Move (online account) has a rate of 1.05%
- Regular Saver accounts
- Flexibility to fund a joint account with two standing orders
- Save €100 to €1,000 each month per account
- Maximum of two monthly payment breaks allowed each calendar year
- Withdraw funds on demand
Current Account
KBC offers a competitive current account, featuring free online, mobile and point of sale transactions for all customers and free ATM and cheque processing for those who maintain €2,000 in their account. The current account has a number of innovative features to facilitate greater customer control, such as ‘Pay Me Now’(allows you to withdraw your interest accrued to date instantly through online banking) and ‘Sweeper’ (facilitates flexible saving by automatically transferring surplus current account funds into a savings account). KBC has developed sophisticated mobile and online technology for the product, including user friendly switching which can be conducted uniquely online.
KBC has partnered with Irish Life, Ireland’s leading life insurance company, to provide a full suite of life insurance products. KBC provides a comprehensive range of life insurance products to its customers through Irish Life, including mortgage life insurance, term life insurance, life long insurance and income protection. KBC also offers Over 50’s Life Insurance and Simple Life Insurance, which are available through the KBC.ie website.
CONTACTING THE ‘BANK OF YOU’
KBC Bank Ireland has been one the busiest banks in launching new offers and initiatives across its entire suite of competitive products, so keep an eye on the website, visit one of their hubs or talk to your local broker.
For further details, visit www.kbc.ie or phone 1800 51 52 53 – Lines open 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 10am-2pm Saturdays.