CML calls for government action to give incentive to mortgage lending

Date:Tuesday 23rd December 2008
Author: Susanna Kavka

More government action is needed to create incentives for mortgage lenders to give loans, it has been claimed.

A spokesperson for the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the government needs to work on the recommendations of the Crosby Report and called for further action.

She explained: "The issue is shortage of funding and we are looking at trying to restore funding to the mortgage market."

As such, she said, more government action is required "to incentivise new lending".

The spokesperson added that banks have a significant part to play in the current climate.

"It's a complicated situation and different lenders are facing different sets of circumstances and challenges. I think they are doing all they can," she commented.

The CML expects 210,000 households to be in arrears of more than three months by the end of 2008 and thinks the equivalent statistic by the end of 2009 will be 500,000.