Second charge repossessions down 36% year-on-year

Figures released today by the FLA show that the number of second charge mortgage repossessions in the third quarter of 2016 was 36, down 35.7% on the same quarter in 2015.

Fiona Hoyle (pictured), head of consumer and mortgage finance at the FLA, attributed this to changing lender behaviour rather than a reduction in the number of borrowers in difficulty. Second charge lenders are now under the FCA’s Mortgage Conduct of Business (MCOB) rules instead of the consumer credit regime.

“The third quarter of 2016 saw further reductions in the number of second charge mortgage repossessions, as lenders continued to settle into the FCA’s MCOB regime while also assisting customers with repayment difficulties,” she said.

“With just Q4 remaining, we expect the number of repossessions in 2016 as a whole to be lower than in 2015.”

However, second charge repossessions have been falling steadily since 2008, when the annual figure was 1,612. In 2015 only 228 repossessions took place, even before second charge moved under the MCOB regime.