Mortgage arrears rising, says Northern Rock

Nationalised bank Northern Rock said today that arrears had risen since the start of the year as mortgage borrowers struggled to pay higher rates caused by the credit crunch.

And the group warned that arrears levels could rise further amid an “uncertain” mortgage market. Northern has seen the percentage of mortgages three months in arrears rise to 0.95%, up from 0.57% at the end of December.