The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet Minister yesterday said 441 troubled mortgage borrowers had qualifed to have their loans restructured by February 2017, with six commercial banks participating in the Government’s Mortgage Relief Plan.

Speaking in Parliament during the second reading of the Homeowners Protection Bill, Michael Halkitis said: “We found a willingness of the banks to do a lot of restructuring before we even got to this point.

“Through the Ministry of Finance we had the challenges of communication, where we were able to communicate with banks as individuals came into us, and in many cases banks were able to do restructuring even before we put in this framework.”

Mortgage relief and protection for homeowners were key elements of the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) campaign before the 2012 general election.

Mortgage relief was implemented early in its term, but the programme underperformed, leading Prime Minister Perry Christie to admit in 2013 that only four or five homeowners were expected to receive assistance.

Mr Halkitis, the minister of state for finance, yesterday said this was due in large part to the significant level of consumer indebtedness that applicants owed to car companies, furniture stores and via salary deductions.

He added that the Christie administration was forced to “go back to the drawing board”, with the second version proving more successful.

“As at February  2017 we have six banks participating in the programme and 441 individuals enrolled in the programme,” said Mr Halkitis.

“Those are individuals who have either had their loans completely restructured or are in the process of having it restructured. We think that this has been a much more successful programme.”

    He added: “Due to the Government’s commitment  to the programme, banks have been more willing to restructure. We think this has been a much more successful programme.” s

Mr Halkitis said one borrower had been able to reduce their monthly mortgage payment from $1,600 to $750, while another saw their interest rate reduced from 8.25 per cent to 5.25 per cent.