Mortgage arrears code expected

A NEW banking code giving struggling mortgage-holders more time in coping with arrears and holding onto their home is expected to be put to the public later this week.

The revised code of conduct on mortgage arrears will suggest debt-ridden home-owners be granted an “informal extension” beyond the one-year moratorium on banks repossessing their properties.

Borrowers, however, will have to adhere to strict agreements with lenders if they want more time to reorganise their debts beyond the already agreed one-year “freeze”.

The Financial Regulator yesterday announced that tomorrow it would begin a consultation period on its proposed new code, where consumers, banks and others can make submissions.

Banks reacted angrily to suggestions that mortgage borrowers were currently being denied breathing space beyond the already agreed one-year moratorium on homes being seized.

Irish Banking Federation head of PR, Felix O’Regan, said lenders were already giving many responsible borrowers extra time to reorganise their repayments.

“If a borrower is still engaging constructively with a lender to make repayments, there’s every chance that the lender will say ‘we’re not exactly delighted with this but we’re happy to work with this for another six months’.”

Banks were already extending the repossession moratorium in many cases, and sometimes for long periods, he said.