Banking industry announces support measures for mortgage customers

The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has launched the second phase of its Dealing With Debt campaign.

This is to highlight new and existing supports available for mortgage customers who may be experiencing financial difficulties in light of the continued cost of living pressures and recent increase in interest rates.

The information campaign aims to ensure concerned mortgage customers are fully aware of the assistance and range of options available to them and is also appealing to borrowers to contact their provider as soon as possible if they are struggling to meet their mortgage or other repayments.

Central to the campaign, which includes substantial national and local advertising, is the comprehensive online resource DealingWithDebt.ie.

This provides in-depth information on how lenders will work with customers who are at risk of missing a repayment or are already behind on their repayments, the full range of tailored repayment solutions available for borrowers in difficulty, and the best actions customers can take if they are under financial strain. It also sets out the key contacts for all lenders and credit servicing firms in addition to independent consumer support bodies.

Credit servicing firms are working closely with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) on a streamlined customer engagement framework to accelerate the agreement of sustainable repayment plans for customers in financial difficulty.

The framework, which is already being successfully implemented by Pepper Advantage Ireland, centres on bi-weekly forums with MABS regional offices to discuss individual cases and affordable and sustainable solutions for customers who are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments.

It also involves an escalation process for cases which are particularly sensitive.

The remaining Credit Servicing Firms are now engaging with MABS on the expansion of this initiative across the industry.

In addition, lenders AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB, Avant Money, Finance Ireland and ICS Mortgages have agreed initial eligibility criteria to provide clear guidelines for home mortgage customers of credit servicing firms who are seeking to switch their mortgage. Credit Servicing Firms have committed to working with these criteria to support customers switching and to ensure they are aware that they may have options to switch their mortgage.

The main mortgage broker representative bodies, Brokers Ireland and the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors, have also agreed to communicate these criteria to borrowers seeking to switch their home loans.

In order to be eligible to switch under these guidelines, customers need to be making full capital and interest repayments on their mortgage.

In addition, customers must have no arrears on their home mortgage or any other lending in the past two years.

To support homeowners who may be unsure if they are eligible to switch, BPFI has published an information leaflet which outlines for customers the various elements of the agreed initial criteria that will be taken into account during the switching application process. It can be found at DealingWithDebt.ie.