KBC Ireland chief sees no repeat of 2010 mortgage arrears crisis    

Roebben says 1,604 accounts were still on mortgage breaks at the end of October

Peter Roebben, chief executive, KBC Bank Ireland

The boss of KBC Bank in Ireland has pledged there will be no repeat of the 2010 mortgage arrears crisis here, as the bank works through the remaining number of customers on payment breaks amid the Covid-19 crisis.         

Chief executive Peter Roebben said 1,604 accounts were still on mortgage breaks at the end of October, equivalent to €317m in outstanding mortgages, but down sharply down from the peak earlier this year. And the total number of its bad loans had fallen during the year even "under the extreme stress of the pandemic", Mr Roebben said in an interview.