In its latest report, Moody's says that the rate of mortgage more than 90 days in arrears hit 3.3pc - the first time the rate has exceeded 3pc since the agency began monitoring the area in 2004. It also says the 360-plus days figure more than tripled in November compared with the same time the previous year to stand at 0.8pc. Moody's says its outlook for the residential mortgage-backed securities sector is negative. It said that weak demand and an oversupply of property in many areas suggest house prices will continue to fall this year.

 

Figures from the Financial Regulator in December showed that mortgage lenders held a total of 331 repossessed homes by the end of September. 110 properties were repossessed in the three months from June to September. The Financial Regulator also said that 26,271 mortgage accounts, or 3.3pc of the country's total mortgages, were in arrears for more than three months. This means that the percentage of households falling into arrears has more than doubled in the last 15 months.

 

Of these 17,767, or 2.2pc, were more than six months in arrears. E4.8 billion was owed in relation to all accounts more than three months in arrears and E3.2 billion was owned in respect of accounts more than six months in arrears. Moody's said that mortgage-backed funds relating to loans advanced by First Active, the former subsidiary of Ulster Bank, have the highest delinquency and default ratios. The data also shows that, among the prime lenders that have parcelled residential mortgages into mortgage-backed funds for the securities market, EBS was the one that experienced the sharpest rise in its loan delinquency and in its default ratios.

 

According to a separate report from Moody's, the existing obligation on the banks to adopt a six-month moratorium on taking legal action against borrowers in arrears does "appear to be having the intended effect of suppressing current repossessions". Under the scheme, banks will decide on a case-by-case basis to defer payments, extend the mortgage term,

change the mortgage from repayment to interest-only or add the arrears and interest into the total capital owed. The government announced last month it would extend the moratorium to 12 months, a move welcomed by consumer groups, housing charities, advocates for the unemployed and borrowers.