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Banks welcome new arrears move

Wednesday, March 13 16:46:04

Banks today welcomed new initiatives by the Government and Central Bank to address the worsening home mortgage arrears crisis.

The Irish Banking Federation (IBF) said it reaffirms the commitment of its member banks to actively address the mortgage arrears challenge.

It said that the Central Bank's Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets document contains considerable detail that will require close examination by lenders, including how the proposals on provisioning are aligned with existing international accounting standards. "In this regard it should be noted that a provision against doubtful debt does not in itself imply a loan writedown," it cautioned.

permanent tsb said it is committed to addressing the problem of customers with mortgage arrears in as constructive a manner as possible. A spokesman said that "no issue is of greater importance to permanent tsb bank than to address the issue of mortgage customers in arrears."

The bank said it welcomes in particular the emphasis placed on the need for customers to engage with their banks with a view to agreeing workable solutions that are both realistic and capable of being sustained.

The spokesman added; "over recent months permanent tsb has made very significant progress in reducing the flow of new customers entering arrears through a much more dynamic engagement with customers and a significant investment in technology and personnel in our Asset Management Unit (AMU). We are committed now to making progress in terms of putting viable, longer term solutions in place for customers with arrears problems which strike a fair balance between the needs of customers on the one hand and the obligation on the bank to protect capital on behalf of taxpayers on the other."

AIB said the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, as well as legislation in relation to Ms Justice Dunne's ruling in July 2011 on the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act, will assist the bank in increasing the pace of implementing resolutions for customers in mortgage difficulty.

"The measures announced today will also complement the major work of engagement already undertaken by AIB with our customers."

AIB's CEO David Duffy said: "Today's announcements represent important steps forward in dealing with the complex issue of mortgage arrears. AIB is focussed on meeting and, where possible, exceeding the targets outlined today by the Central Bank over the course of 2013 and beyond. AIB is already engaging with a significant portion of our customers in arrears. The bank has the staff, resources and product solutions in place to assist our customers through this process. We again urge all customers facing difficulties to engage with us as soon as possible with a view to reaching solutions."