Many have taken a battering over lending to people with poor credit histories who, surprise, surprise, then defaulted on their loans. Some leading US banks have gone under as a result and nobody really knows how many others are deeply involved.

Only last week, a leading US monetary of"cial predicted that it could take up to two years before the full extent of the crisis is known. If the crisis dragged on that long in terms of increased interest rates, it would be bad news for mortgage holders. Banks certainly would not bear increased funding costs for this long without passing it on to their borrowers. However, the European Central Bank has helped to take the heat out of the crisis by sparing us an expected hike in interest rates.

And the US Federal Reserve went even further this week by slashing its main lending rate by half a percentage point to 4.75pc in a move that was welcomed in the markets. This may help to stave off a general round of rate hikes. Another factor in favour of Irish borrowers is the relatively large number who are already protected by tracker loans.

These loans are "untouchable" in the current crisis because they are linked under the terms of their contract to the European Central Bank's interest rate . . . not the rate at which banks lend to each other.

And because so many savvy Irish borrowers already have them, it makes it less worthwhile for banks to sustain a major public relations "hit" by increasing mortgage rates for other borrowers.