Mortgage lending falls by €84m

MORTGAGE lending fell by €84 million in August, representing the fifth month in a row of decline in home loan demand.

The amount owed on residential mortgages has fallen by €132m so far this year and contrasts sharply with the rise of €7 billion for the same period in 2008, the latest Central Bank statistics show.

PIBA, the country’s largest group of independent mortgage and insurance brokers, has called for urgent intervention by Government to become a bit more flexible in their lending practices.