Pepper Homeloans has cut its variable mortgage rate by up to 0.45 percentage points for residential customers.

The variable rate will now start from 3.1% for mortgages, one of the lowest available in Ireland.

Buy-to-let rates have been reduced as low as 4.4% for mortgages with a loan-to-value ratio below 50%.

The Australian-listed financial services group Pepper began offering Irish home loans through brokers in January.

Pepper Homeloans currently has approximately 50,000 customers in Ireland, and has been primarily targeting first-time buyers, the self-employed and those with non-standard employment types.

Pepper Ireland CEO Paul Doddrell said of the new cuts:

"Today’s rate change will help cement our position as a highly competitive modern alternative for lending in Ireland that brings competition and choice for Irish borrowers wanting to switch their mortgage, refinance or take out their first home loan.”