EU and Fitch: Long journey to clean up property loan books of Irish banks

Separate reports by the EU and Fitch Ratings published yesterday warned Irish banks will take some time to clean up their property loan books from the effects of the crash.

The EU, in its latest post-bailout report, said reducing the high level of so-called non-performing loans on Irish banks’ balance sheets and reducing mortgage arrears demand “more efforts”.

It said the elevated level of non-performing loans is “one reason for high lending rates” in Ireland.