Avant Money profits rise 21% as mortgage lending jumps

The mortgage-driven loan book also grew

In the first nine months of the year, Avant Money profits jumped 21% to €41 million, while its mortgage-driven loan book grew 26% to €5.6 billion.

The Irish Times reported that Avant Money, the Irish unit of Spanish banking group Bankinter, posted the rise despite setting aside €17 million for problem loans and other provisions.

A presentation that accompanied Bankinter's latest quarterly results revealed these figures.

At Avant, interest income rose 21% over the nine months of 2026 to €103 million.

What has driven most of that growth is mortgage demand.

It comes at a time when 7 in 10 young adults are considering leaving Ireland for a better quality of life.

The rise also lands as the State finalises Budget 2027, where Fine Gael is hinting a fuel excise cut will stay.

Why is Avant Money's loan book growing so fast?

Bankinter, which entered Ireland in 2018 through its acquisition of credit card firm Avantcard, launched a mortgage offering in 2020 and renamed the business Avant Money.

Last year, the lender secured a full Irish banking licence, letting it offer current accounts alongside mortgages for the first time.

In February this year it launched a deposit offering, months after an earlier soft launch of savings products.

Niall Corbett, Bankinter Ireland's country manager, said RTÉ reported the bank was building on a solid first half of the year, underpinned by growth in mortgages and consumer finance.

He added: "The response from the public to our range of deposit products has been encouraging and we look forward to an expanded offering of products and services in Ireland in the coming quarters."

How does the Irish arm fit into the wider Bankinter group?

Following the branch conversion last year, Bankinter let Avant start gathering Irish deposits under the group's Spanish banking licence.

The group, which has headquarters in Madrid, said that within eight years of the savings launch, it expects the Irish loan book to be almost fully funded by local deposits.

Over the nine months, Bankinter's wider group net profit rose 11% to €901 million.

How big is Avant Money's loan book now?

At the end of last month, Avant Money's loan book stood at €5.6 billion, up 26% compared with September of last year.

This was driven mainly by mortgage lending.

Who owns Avant Money?

Avant Money is the Irish unit of Bankinter, the Madrid-headquartered Spanish banking group.

It has bought Irish credit card firm Avantcard in 2018, prior to building it into a full banking operation.

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