Mortgage survey welcomed

The money advice and budgeting service (MABS) is welcoming the move by the Central Bank to survey mortgage holders.

The survey will focus on the changes in income and consumption patterns of mortgage holders after they draw down their bank loans.

A spokesperson for MABS said there had been a 50% rise in the number of clients with mortgages attending their services.

Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan said the survey would help the bank to develop policies to help deal with the issues facing mortgage holders.

“This survey is needed for the Central Bank to understand better the circumstances faced by indebted Irish households in order to scale and target policies more effectively,” he said. “It is important to note that all information provided by individual survey participants will be treated confidentially.”

The director of Independent Money Advice, Frank Conway, said that more than 10% of the 768,000 mortgages that have been lent by banks are already in arrears.

“The move by the banking authority is welcome if only that it serves to highlight the seriousness of the ongoing mortgage arrears problem as well as a growing need to fully understand the complex reasons behind indebtedness in general,” said Mr Conway.