No plan to scrap loans criteria

The war of words over the Central Bank’s year-old mortgage rules has flared again, as bank governor Philip Lane said there will be no early review, even as auctioneers launched a fresh broadside calling for them to be changed immediately.

Mr Lane yesterday said the bank was opening a consultation and inviting written submissions on the possible effects of the home loan rules on the economy and the housing market.

However, he reiterated that the bank was not for turning on the wisdom of the restrictions, saying its review later this year could lead to the rules being “tightened, loosened or left unchanged” but not scrapped altogether.