Six month mortgage breaks on way as banks make robust defence of payment deferrals

All five main banks, as well as vulture funds, are set to extend so-called payment breaks for mortgage customers from the current three-month period to six months, as the main banking industry group revealed that a “significant” number have already applied for a payments deferral.

Brian Hayes, chief executive of the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, said that a minimum of 45,000 mortgage borrowers, accounting for 5% or 6% of all home-loan borrowers, had already applied and that he expected more to apply for the payment breaks.