Jersey banks and other mortgage providers have been asked to honour the UK’s Mortgage Charter and commit to providing additional short-term support to residential mortgage holders who are struggling in the face of rising interest rates.
This follows discussion in Government about rising interest rates and agreement in the Cost-of-Living Ministerial Group last week.
Deputy Elaine Millar (pictured), Assistant Chief Minister with responsibility for Financial Services, has written to mortgage lenders in Jersey asking them to confirm that they will support customers as interest rises lead to increased repayments.
Deputy Millar said: “The Council of Ministers is closely monitoring the current situation, where we have high inflation and rising interest rates, and we are committed to helping people address the cost of living.
“The UK published the Mortgage Charter on 26 June, setting out the standards lenders will adopt when helping their customers. Its signatories are committing to providing borrowers with new flexibilities to manage their mortgage payments over a short period, and I have written to lenders asking them for confirmation that they will do the same in Jersey.”
In the letter, Deputy Millar writes: “We would welcome confirmation that Jersey lenders, in a similar manner to UK institutions, will also work with any households holding mortgages secured over their primary residence who are struggling with or worried about higher mortgage repayments, and that repossession action will not be commenced, unless all other options have been exhausted.”
Options could include extending the term of mortgages to reduce monthly payments or the provision of repayment ‘holidays’ for short periods to enable affected Islanders time to restructure their finances during such a difficult period.
