PERSONAL LOAN ACTIVITY reached record highs last year, driven by car loans and ‘green’ home improvements.

Loan values were 21.6% higher in 2024 than in 2023, reaching almost €2.5 billion.

The volume of loans rose by 13% to 229,423, meaning that both the number of personal loans last year and what those loans were worth both increased.

In the last three months of the year alone, there were 56,381 personal loan drawdowns valued at €588 million, representing an increase of 28.3% in volume and 32.8% in value year-on-year.

That’s according to the Banking Payments Federation of Ireland latest personal loan report.

Almost 66,207 car or auto loans were drawn down valued at €856 million, with the volume and value of car loans increasing by 14.6% and 20.2% respectively.

Home improvement loan volumes reached 60,322, marking an increase of 6.8%, while values rose by 19.4% to €754 million.

Green loan volumes rose by 21.4% to 5,178, with the value jumping by 25.5% to €120 million.

Other types of loans, which can include for purposes like education, holidays and weddings, increased in volume by 16% to 102,894 and in value by 25.1% to €840 million.

BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said the increase in demand for personal lending indicates “strong household spending power and consumer confidence”.

“Looking more closely at key categories, each segment reached its highest volume and value in annual terms, with ‘other loan’ activity more than doubling since 2020,” Hayes said.

He said the increase in demand for green personal loans in particular was “encouraging”.