Number of AIB mortgages in trouble less than industry average

The head of mortgages at AIB, Jim O'Keefe, has said 4% of its customers are having trouble paying back their loans.

Mr O'Keefe said the figure, taken in September last year, is less than the industry norm of just over 8%.

However, he said dealing with arrears is the most critical part of his business.

Mr O'Keefe said the bank is trying to reach an agreement on mortgages that are sustainable for people in arrears.

He said: "We are dealing with a lot of requests from customers today. We have staff in our 271 outlets who are available when our customers come in to deal with them.

"We have also trained our staff to help them cope with the type of scenarios that they are dealing with, customers are very stressed, that they are able to talk to them and to work with them."