The CML urges the Government to proceed as quickly as possible in seeking the necessary permissions to proceed, as the dearth of funding is a major constraint to the current mortgage market.
The CML also confirms it looks forward to playing a full and constructive role in the new public/private forum to monitor and review the flow of lending. It is important that the Government looks not only to individual banks to achieve its objectives, but across the entire spread of the lending industry.
The CML in principle supports a standard 3-month period of negotiation before lenders begin court proceedings for possession. However, the detail will be important, as it may postpone rather than change a lender's decision to seek possession. Supporting the income of households in difficulty is just as important, which is why the CML supports the further modest improvements to the Income Support for Mortgage Interest scheme. The CML believes further support through this scheme will be necessary and should be included in the 2009 Budget, if it is to address the increasing number of borrowers who may lose their jobs in 2009.
CML director general Michael Coogan commented: "Everything announced today is helpful, if modest. But it is vital to recognise that not all lenders are the same, and not all have received support from the Government's interventions in what remains a very difficult financial and economic environment. This has a direct bearing on the extent to which they are able to deliver the Government's multiple aspirations to increase the flow of new lending, be more lenient to borrowers in arrears, and improve their individual capital position."
