A new rule which would see housebuyers forced to save 20% of a deposit before taking out a mortgage is to be delayed.

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) has refuted claims that it has failed to fulfil any of the functions it was established to carry out, saying that any serious, objective assessment of the organisation recognises the value of its work.

Only one in 10 of distressed mortgage holders will qualify for the split mortgage solution that includes a significant debt write-down, head of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation (IMHO), David Hall, has said.

None of the other major banks in Ireland are planning on following AIB’s steps and offering customer a debt write-off in limited circumstances.

The first person to benefit from a debt settlement under the new personal insolvency regime is reported to have had up to 70% of his debt written off.

The scale of the long-term mortgage crisis is growing at an alarming rate, the Central Bank has warned, with a third of households in arrears now two years behind in repayments.

Decisions on whether a family can afford to live in their current home or be forced to trade down will be the most controversial part of the personal insolvency legislation.

A politician who met the promoter of a private trust — which has recently accepted hundreds of properties from distressed borrowers — believes its bid to thwart lenders is a scam.

The new code for mortgage arrears is good news for investors in residential mortgage-backed securities, or bond holders, according to the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s.

Almost 350 people weighed down with debt worries were yesterday given step-by-step advice, not only on how to address their financial worries, but also to stop those worries affecting their mental health.

A new Government scheme offering free financial advice to struggling mortgage-holders has come under attack today.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he he hopes insolvency legislation will be in the Dáil before the summer break, but emphasised that it will only be of benefit to individuals genuinely in distress with their debts.

The co-founder of the New Beginnings group, Ross Maguire, has said there is "no alternative" to writing off debt for some homeowners.

There are so many voices advocating for the interests of property owners that another even more sizeable group in our society is completely ignored.

A county sheriff has been prevented from repossessing a home on behalf of a bank in Laois by a nationwide organisation set up to stop the eviction of people and families from their homes.

Plans to reduce the terms of bankruptcy for struggling borrowers will leave them facing eight years of insolvency terms instead of the proposed three.

A group which helps struggling mortgage-holders says lending institutions must face up to the fact that some level of debt-restructuring is inevitable.

FAILURE to complete emergency remedial works at the Priory Hall apartment complex by the end of next month will be regarded as a breach of court orders, the president of the High Court warned yesterday.

A blanket mortgage debt forgiveness scheme to solve the negative equity crisis would cost €14bn, government advisers have warned.

A disabled first-time buyer used his compensation pay-out from a motorbike crash to snap up a block of flats at Ireland’s latest distressed property auction.

THE row over claims by the Master of the High Courts that repossession threats led to suicides among struggling mortgage holders deepened yesterday after bankers dismissed the remarks as inflammatory and emotive.

A LEGAL challenge to the entitlement of Start Mortgages Ltd to issue mortgages here has major implications for Start’s €1 billion housing loans and for the legal position of other lenders, the Central Bank has told the Commercial Court.

AN unemployed construction worker has brought a High Court challenge aimed at stopping a mortgage provider from taking possession of what has been his family’s home for more than three centuries.

A challenge to Start Mortgages lending practices has been given the go ahead by the High Court.