The Central Bank has cleared the way for the main mortgage lenders to participate in the Government’s shared-equity housing scheme, despite there being reservations about the plan within the bank itself. The Central Bank has warned that the shared-equity plan “could result in upward pressure on house prices”. Two people familiar with the bank’s deliberations said the move to allow mortgage lenders participate came at a meeting last week of the Central Bank Commission, which oversees the institution. There was no comment from the Department of Finance, through which the Central Bank communicates decisions on such matters to the Government. “Depending on the precise design of the scheme … lenders’ participation in the scheme could potentially be interpreted as being in contradiction with that anti-avoidance clause,” the bank wrote in the letter.

Source: The Irish Times May 31, 2021 02:00 UTC