Repossessions to ‘rise significantly’, warns regulator

Home repossessions will “rise significantly”, the financial regulator has warned, saying it was an “unpalatable fact” that lenders would no longer hold back.

It was left to Matthew Elderfield to deliver the starker message to distressed homeowners, as Finance Minister Michael Noonan took a softer approach, saying the number of homes seized will be “very small”.

They held a joint press conference yesterday to announce a plan to deal with the mortgage crisis that sets quarterly targets for banks to restructure loans in arrears.