Annex 1: Mortgage Arrears Data and Further Information
The mortgage arrears data, along with a set of explanatory notes, are available in the Mortgage Arrears section of the Statistics portal of the Central Bank of Ireland website: http://www.centralbank.ie/polstats/stats/mortgagearrears/Pages/Data.aspx.
The Central Bank of Ireland has produced a number of consumer guides to assist consumers who are in arrears or facing arrears, including
- Mortgage Arrears - A Consumer Guide to Dealing with your lender;
- Mortgage Arrears - Frequently Asked Questions; and
- Guide to Completing a Standard Financial Statement.
The above guides, that include information on the protections that are available to consumers in financial difficulty, are available to download from the consumer information section of the Central Bank website.
Annex 2: Restructuring Arrangements
Forbearance techniques include a switch to an interest only mortgage; a reduction in the payment amount; a temporary deferral of payment; extending the term of the mortgage; and capitalising arrears amounts and related interest. The figures also include advanced modification options such as split mortgages and trade-down mortgages, which have been introduced to provide more long-term solutions for customers in difficulty.
It is important to note that ‘meeting the terms of the arrangement’ is not a measure of sustainability, as not all restructure types represent longer-term sustainable solutions as defined within the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets (MART). For instance, short-term interest only restructures are, in general, not part of longer-term sustainable solutions. The MART sustainability targets also include a significant number of accounts in arrears which are part of a legal process. These accounts are not classified as restructured within the Mortgage Arrears Statistics. Arrears associated with such accounts are recorded in full in the data.
Annex 3: Borrower Engagement
‘Co-operation’ status is defined in line with the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA), which sets out strict criteria in relation to when loan owners can classify borrowers as not co-operating. In such cases, loan holders must formally notify the borrower of the implications of being classified as not co-operating, including that it may commence legal proceedings for repossession of the property.