Residential Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions Statistics: Q1 2017

Summary

• The number of mortgage accounts for principal dwelling houses (PDH) in arrears fell further in the first quarter of 2017; this marks the fifteenth consecutive quarter of decline. A total of 76,422 (10 per cent) of accounts were in arrears at end-March, a decline of 1.4 per cent relative to December 2016.
• The number of accounts in arrears over 90 days at end-March was 53,100 (7 per cent of total), reflecting a quarter-on-quarter decline of 2.2 per cent. This represents the fourteenth consecutive decline in the number of PDH accounts in arrears over 90 days.
• The majority of maturity categories of arrears, including the over 720 days’ category, declined in Q1 2017. This category recorded a seventh consecutive decline, having declined for the first time in Q3 2015. The decline of 1.5 per cent in Q1 2017 contributed to an annual decline of 7.9 per cent.
• The number of PDH mortgage accounts that were classified as restructured at end-March was 120,894. Of these restructured accounts, 87 per cent were deemed to be meeting the terms of their current restructure arrangement, down slightly from previous quarter. There was a continued reduction in short-term restructure arrangements such as Interest Only and Reduced Payments, which was partly offset by an increase in longer-term arrangements such as Split Mortgages.
• Buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage accounts in arrears over 90 days decreased by 2.4 per cent during the first quarter of 2017. At end-March there were 14,367 BTL accounts in arrears over 720 days, with an outstanding balance of €4.2 billion, equivalent to 18 per cent of the total outstanding balance on all BTL mortgage accounts.
• Rent receivers were appointed to 550 BTL accounts during first quarter of 2017; this is down slightly from the previous quarter.
• Non-bank entities now hold 48,315 mortgage accounts for PDH and BTL combined. Of this number, almost 63 per cent are held by regulated retail credit firms, with the remainder held by unregulated loan owners. Some 42 per cent of PDH accounts held by unregulated loan owners are in arrears of over 720 days, compared to 18 per cent of accounts held by retail credit firms.

Residential Mortgages on Principal Dwelling Houses

Arrears

At end-March 2017, there were 734,106 private residential mortgage accounts for principal dwellings held in the Republic of Ireland, to a value of €99 billion. Of this total stock, 76,422 accounts were in arrears, representing a fall of 1,071 or 1.4 per cent over the quarter. Some 53,100 accounts (7 per cent) were in arrears of more than 90 days. ¹

The number of accounts in arrears over 90 days fell by 2.2 per cent over the quarter, marking the fourteenth consecutive decline in this category. The outstanding balance on all lenders’ PDH mortgage accounts in arrears of more than 90 days was €10.7 billion at end-March, equivalent to 11 per cent of the total outstanding balance on all PDH mortgage accounts.

Accounts in arrears of up to 90 days increased slightly in the first quarter of 2017, marking the second successive increase in this category. However, this increase in early arrears is offset by reductions in longer-term arrears categories. The number of accounts in arrears over 360 days fell to 41,070 at end-March, equivalent to 6 per cent of the total stock of PDH mortgage accounts and representing a fall of 961 accounts over the quarter. Accounts in arrears of between 361 days and 720 days saw a decline of 5.4 per cent.

The number of accounts in arrears over 720 days also declined by 494 accounts in Q1, or 1.5 per cent; this was the seventh consecutive decline in this category and follows a 3.2 per cent fall in the previous quarter. This represents a year-on-year decline of 7.9 per cent for accounts in arrears over 720 days. Accounts in arrears over 720 days now constitute 43 per cent of all accounts in arrears, and 90 per cent of arrears balances outstanding. For all institutions, the value of accounts in longer-term arrears over 360 days remains large, amounting to just under €8.8 billion at end-March 2017.

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.² 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.

A total stock of 120,894 PDH mortgage accounts were categorised as restructured at end-March 2017. This reflects a reduction of 50 accounts compared to end-December 2016. The share of interest only arrangements and reduced payment arrangements fell further during Q1, to 11 per cent, indicating a continuing move out of short-term arrangements. Arrears capitalisations and permanent split mortgages showed the most significant increases and continued to account for the largest shares of restructured accounts at 32 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively, at end-March. A breakdown of restructured mortgages by type is presented in Figure 2.

A total of 7,474 new restructure arrangements³  were agreed during the first quarter of 2017, the lowest figure recorded since end-September 2012. The data on arrears and restructures indicate that of the total stock of 76,442 PDH accounts that were in arrears at end-March, 26,444 (35 per cent) were classified as restructured at that time. Of the total stock of 53,100 PDH accounts that were in arrears of more than 90 days, 27 per cent were classified as restructured; this is up from 26 per cent in the previous quarter.
Some 78 per cent of restructured accounts were not in arrears at end-March 2017.

Restructured accounts in arrears include accounts that were in arrears prior to restructuring where the arrears balance has not yet been eliminated, as well as accounts that are in arrears on the current restructuring arrangement. At end- March, 87 per cent of restructured PDH accounts were deemed to be meeting the terms of their arrangement. This means that the borrower is, at a minimum, meeting the agreed monthly repayments according to the current restructure arrangement.

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 Targets⁴. 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.

Inability to meet the terms of the arrangement implies that the restructure agreement put in place may not have been suitable. Table 1 shows the percentage of restructured accounts that were deemed to be meeting the terms of their arrangement at end-March 2017, broken down by arrangement type. Lower numbers indicate a greater number of borrowers are not currently meeting terms of new arrangement; this is particularly evident amongst cases in which a permanent interest rate reduction has been granted.

As the figures in Table 1 only reflect compliance with the terms of the current restructure arrangement, we should expect to see a higher percentage of compliance among the restructure types that are likely to be shorter-term.⁵  Accordingly, the figures show that of the total stock of accounts in the arrears capitalisation category, just over 22 per cent of PDH accounts are not meeting terms of current restructure arrangement, i.e. the arrears balance has increased since the arrangement was put in place.

Legal Proceedings and Repossessions

During the first quarter of 2017, legal proceedings were issued to enforce the debt/security on a PDH mortgage on 1,645 accounts. During Q1 2017, there were 605 mortgage accounts where court proceedings concluded but arrears remained outstanding. In 278 accounts, the Courts granted an order for repossession or sale of the property. There were 1,693 properties in the banks’ possession at the beginning of the first quarter. A total of 370 properties were taken into possession by lenders during the quarter, down from 455 properties in the previous quarter. Of the properties taken into possession during the quarter, 142 were repossessed on foot of a Court Order, while the remaining 228 were voluntarily surrendered or abandoned. During the quarter, 313 properties were disposed of. The number of properties in possession at the end of the quarter is also impacted by reclassifications. As a result, lenders were in possession of 1,740 PDH properties at end-March 2017.

Residential Mortgages on Buy-to-Let Properties

Arrears

At end-March 2017, there were 128,149 residential mortgage accounts for buy-to-let properties held in the Republic of Ireland, to a value of €23.4 billion. Some 24,553 (19 per cent) of these accounts were in arrears, compared to 25,218 accounts at end-December 2016, reflecting a decrease of 2.6 per cent over the quarter. Of the total BTL stock, 20,009 or 16 per cent were in arrears of more than 90 days, reflecting a decrease of 2.4 per cent over the quarter. The outstanding balance on all BTL mortgage accounts in arrears of more than 90 days was €5.5 billion at end-March, equivalent to 24 per cent of the total outstanding balance.

The number of BTL accounts that were in arrears of more than 180 days was 18,524 at end-March 2017, reflecting a quarter-on-quarter fall of 2.0 per cent. BTL accounts in arrears greater than 720 days increased by 2.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2017. Accounts in arrears of over 720 days now number 14,367 or 11 per cent of the total stock of BTL mortgage accounts, and 88 per cent of outstanding arrears. The outstanding balance on these accounts was €4.2 billion at end-March, equivalent to 18 per cent of the total outstanding balance on all BTL mortgage accounts.

Restructuring Arrangements

A total stock of 24,458 BTL mortgage accounts were categorised as restructured at end-March 2017, reflecting a decrease of 834 accounts from the stock of restructured accounts reported at end-December 2016. Of the total stock of restructured accounts recorded at end-March, 78 per cent were not in arrears, while 86 per cent were meeting the terms of their current restructure arrangement. A total of 1,860 new restructure arrangements were agreed during the first quarter of the year, the lowest number of new restructures agreed in a quarter since this series began in 2012. On the BTL side, the largest cohort of restructured mortgages was in reduced payment (greater than interest only) arrangements, which represented 24 per cent of all restructure arrangements. The data on arrears and restructures indicate that of the total stock of 24,553 BTL accounts that were in arrears at end-March, 5,320 (or 22 per cent) were classified as restructured at that time.

Legal Proceedings and Repossessions

During the first quarter of 2017, rent receivers were appointed to 550 BTL properties, bringing the stock of accounts with rent receivers appointed to 6,025; this is up slightly from a stock of 6,023 in the previous quarter. There were 596 BTL properties in the banks’ possession at the beginning of Q1 2017. A total of 239 properties were taken into possession by lenders during the quarter. Of the total BTL repossessions in the quarter, 117 were repossessed on foot of a Court Order, while the remaining 122 were voluntarily surrendered or abandoned. During Q1 2017, 210 properties were disposed of. As a result, lenders were in possession of 625 BTL properties at end-March 2017.

Residential Mortgages held by Non-Bank Entities⁶

Arrears

At end-March 2016, non-bank entities accounted for 5 per cent of the total stock of PDH mortgage accounts outstanding. For BTLs the proportion was higher at just under 8 per cent. Overall, non-bank entities accounted for just under 6 per cent of the total stock of residential mortgage accounts outstanding (PDH and BTL) at end-March 2016 (8 per cent in value terms).

In terms of PDH mortgages held by non-bank entities, over 68 per cent were held by regulated retail credit firms at end-March 2017. For retail credit firms, 26 per cent of accounts were in arrears over 90 days, with 18 per cent in arrears of 720 days (Table 4). The equivalent figures for unregulated loan owners was 52 per cent and 42 per cent, respectively. Restructuring activity was higher among retail credit firms, with 25 per cent of loans restructured at end-March, compared to 21 per cent for unregulated loan owners.

In terms of BTL mortgages held by non-bank entities, a higher number of BTL accounts are held by unregulated loan owners compared with retail credit firms. Unregulated loans owners account for 58 per cent of total loan accounts held by non-bank entities. The number of BTL accounts in arrears for unregulated loan owners was particularly high, with 3 out of every 4 accounts in arrears, and over 66 per cent of all accounts in arrears over 720 days at end-March 2017. For retail credit firms, 42 per cent of accounts were in arrears, with 26 per cent of accounts in arrears of 720 days.

A breakdown of PDH and BTL mortgages held by regulated and unregulated non-bank entities are presented in Table 4 and Table 5 below.

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: https://www.centralbank.ie/statistics/data-and-analysis/credit-and-banking-statistics/mortgage-arrears.

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.

¹ The figures published here represent the total stock of mortgage accounts in arrears of more than 90 days, as reported to the Central Bank of Ireland by mortgage lenders and credit service providers. They include mortgages that have been restructured and are still in arrears of more than 90 days, as well as mortgages in arrears of more than 90 days that have not been restructured.

² Arrears capitalisation is an arrangement whereby some or all of the outstanding arrears are effectively added to the remaining principal balance, to be repaid over the life of the mortgage.

³ This includes first-time restructures and further modifications of existing restructures.

⁴ Further details on the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets can be found here.

⁵ It should also be noted that some categories reflect only a small number of arrangements, particularly in the case of BTL accounts.

⁶ Non-bank entities comprise regulated retail credit firms and unregulated loan owners. Unregulated loans owners include owners of mortgages not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, that have purchased mortgage loans secured on Irish residential properties. The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act, 2015 was enacted to ensure that relevant borrowers, whose loans are sold to third parties, maintain the same regulatory protections they had prior to the sale.