THERE was some small relief for struggling homeowners yesterday with news they will not face interest charges if they fall into arrears on their mortgage.

MORE than half of all mortgage brokers claim lenders are rejecting up to eight out of 10 applications for home loans.

THE weak state of the housing market is reflected in the latest Central Bank credit figures that show mortgage borrowing fell by 1.6% year on year to end September 2010.

INTEREST rates are being held at their record low 1%, with economists expecting no hike until at least the middle of next year.

THE European Central Bank (ECB) has been urged to slash interest rates to zero by a leading economist.

LENDING by Irish financial institutions continued to fall in April, reflecting poor demand from both businesses and consumers and a reluctance by the banks to provide credit.

LENDERS had 456 repossessed homes on their books at the end of March but experts say the figures significantly lag behind those in Britain and the US.

MORTGAGE lending dropped again during the third quarter of this year, but the quarterly rate of decline has slowed significantly since last year, prompting hope that the market may soon pick up.

THE amount of private sector credit continued to decline in September, with a dip of 3.4%, reflecting the continuing slump in the Irish economy and tight credit conditions as banks continue to shore up their balance sheets.

ERGO Software Solutions, the Dublin-based software company supplying smart IT solutions to the financial services sector, has been awarded the contract to provide an online mortgage application system for PIBA Mortgage Services, a non-profit mortgage service for independent brokers due to be launched in September.