The Central Bank Commission, which acts as the Bank's board, discussed rising mortgage interest rates at its April meeting, according to minutes published today.
The Bank’s Deputy Governor, Consumer and Investor Protection, Derville Rowland informed the Commission that the Bank had taken a range of measures 'to ensure the system supports borrowers facing financial difficulty.’
She went on to say the system ‘should be capable of dealing with arrears and increased levels of switching.’
Derville Rowland said the Bank did not have a mandate to restrict rates charged by lenders or to require them to provide certain products.
She said the focus of the Bank was to ensure that customers can switch providers and any borrower in difficulty ‘is supported to find an alternative repayment arrangement they can afford.’
In response to a question over the level of switching from non-banks to banks, it was noted that there was ‘more capacity for people to switch, including those who may have had historical non-performance' but who were now repaying their loans.
The minutes state that the issue of switching from non-banks to banks would now be ‘examined further.’
