Thousands of struggling homeowners could soon have their mortgages frozen, according to reports.
The country’s leading banks are set to be investigating schemes which would allow cash-strapped families to put their home loan “on ice”.
Under the system, the mortgage holder would pay off what they can and put the rest on hold until they are able to pay the balance.
According to the Evening Herald, Bank of Ireland and its subsidiary ICS are looking into the proposals while AIB and EBS said they are also examining ways of introducing “split-mortgages”.
The part of the loan temporarily set aside under the new scheme would accrue no further interest and wouldn’t require repayments.
The move would ease the burden on up to 53,000 homeowners who are in serious arrears.
