Variable mortgage holders more likely to default than trackers

Homeowners with variable rate mortgages are more likely to default than the tracker customers their increased repayments are helping to support.

A report from the Central Bank said data from banks showed the higher burden for variable rate customers could be explained because the institutions were trying to generate cash to cover wider losses.

But these lenders have been warned that, by punishing the variable section of the market, worth €31 billion, they are exposing themselves to potentially bigger default problems.