Ireland: Competition watchdog calls for more ‘effective’ home repossessions

The State’s competition watchdog has called for a more effective home-repossession regime in Ireland, under a series of recommendations to encourage new players into the country’s “dysfunctional” mortgage market.

In a report by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) on options to shake up the mortgage market, the authority said restrictions in Ireland on lenders being able to “possess loan security” in the event of a mortgage default have the effect of raising loan rates for the wider market.

“Objectively, the scale of non-performing loans in Ireland is high relative to European peers and the number of loans in arrears over 720 days is exceptionally high. Despite this, repossessions are very low,” it said, adding that the high number of backlogged legal cases speaks “of a courts system that could work better”.

Full Content: Independent

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