BSA repsonse to FSA mortgage figures
Hard pressed borrowers struggling to meet their mortgage repayments need to contact their building society as soon as possible – that is the advice from the Building Societies Association as the FSA publishes data on mortgage arrears.
Building societies have a wide range of techniques that they can use to help ensure that wherever possible borrowers with repayment difficulties can remain in their homes. Because each arrears case is different, societies seek to develop unique solutions to each specific arrears problem.
The merits of this approach are borne out by figures which show that balances in arrears at building societies are running at just 0.80% of outstanding mortgage balances. This compares very favourably to industry wide figures of 2.72%
Commenting on the figures, Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage Policy at the BSA said:-
“Building societies have an unrivalled track record of helping borrowers with repayment difficulties to allow them to stay in their homes.
“Every repossession represents an individual tragedy, but borrowers with building society mortgages can be confident that their lender will, if they contact their lender as soon as possible, develop an individual plan to help them get back on their feet.
“This may include rescheduling their mortgage, help with claiming Government benefits and working with other agencies that may be able to help them.
“This individual approach that societies take is key to keeping people in their homes. Whilst government is introducing a number of schemes to help vulnerable borrowers, they will not be suitable for everyone and certainly no substitute for talking to your building society at the earliest opportunity.”
~ Ends ~
Notes to Editors
The Building Societies Association (BSA) represents all 55 building societies in the United Kingdom. Building societies have total assets of £395 billion and, together with their subsidiaries, hold residential mortgages of £250 billion, more than 20% of the total outstanding in the UK. Societies hold over £235 billion of retail deposits, accounting for more than 20% of all such deposits in the UK. Building societies also account for about 37% of all cash ISA balances. Building societies employ over 51,500 full and part-time staff and operate through more than 2,000 branches.
Photographs of Paul Broadhead are available from the BSA press office, or from the Association’s website at www.bsa.org.uk
Neil Johnson
Mortgage Policy Advisor
Building Societies Association
Tel : 020-7520 5903
E-Mail : neil.johnson@bsa.org.uk
Join us at the BSA Annual Conference for two days of dialogue, debate and some of the best industry speakers.
Register now at www.bsaconference.org
-01.png){kind=spacer}