Owner-occupier long-term arrears rise again

The number of owner-occupiers sliding deeper into arrears who now find themselves two years or more behind on their repayments has increased for the 11th consecutive quarter.

Latest Central Bank figures show 38,041 mortgage holders living in their homes are now in arrears of 720 days or more.

This compares to the first quarter for which similar figures are available, in September 2012, when 20,622 owner-occupiers were in long-term arrears of this length.