Value of personal loans issued hits record high in 2024
Drawdowns of personal loans hit a record high of €2.5bn during last year, with the value of car loans increasing by 20% alone, new data from the Banking and Payments Federation, Ireland (BPFI) shows.
Overall, the number of personal loans which were drawn down increased by 13% to 229,423 compared to 2023, while the combined value of these loans rose by 21.6%.
In total, there were 66,207 car loans issued last year, worth €856m. The volume and value of car loans increased by 14.6% and 20.2% respectively.
There were 60,322 home improvement loans drawn down last year — up 6.8% year-on-year — with the combined value increasing by 19.4%, to €754m.
There were 102,894 loans for other purposes — including education, holidays and special occasions such as weddings — worth €840m, up by 16.0% and 25.1% respectively.
In annual terms, green loan volumes jumped by 21.4% to 5,178, while the value of green loans rose by 25.5% to €120m. Green loans can include home energy efficiency upgrades as well as car loans to buy fully electric or plug-in hybrid cars.
BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said these figures come as the Central Bank reported there was more than €13bn in outstanding consumer credit at the end of March 2025, 'the highest level since February 2020'.
'Within that, consumer credit with terms of over one and up to five years increased to more than €10bn, the highest value since June 2010.'
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