Central Bank concern on lending rules

A number of members of the Central Bank Commission have questioned whether house prices would rise as it loosened mortgage lending rules, minutes of its late November meeting published yesterday revealed.

The identity of some of the 11-strong governing board who raised concerns ahead of the official unveiling of the measures was not revealed though the commission went on to approve “by consensus” the new rules, according to the minutes.

One member questioned moving the loan-to-value limit to 90%, saying a lower limit would be more appropriate.