Repossession scheme not being taken up

One story that may well get more coverage is the news that apart from the nationalised banks,no other lender has so far taken up the government's offer of the mortgage subsidy scheme.

Heralded as one of the major ways of getting the housing market moving and protecting those losing their jobs from eviction,it has be shunned by amongst others,Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide and Spain's Santander.

The scheme allow for borrowers who have lost their jobs to defer all capital repayments and up to 70 per cent of interest for two years.

Up to 28,000 people have become victims of repossession since the proposals were announced by the housing secretary Margaret Beckett.

According to the Times,a spokesman for Abbey part of Santander said

Abbey offers similar levels of forbearance to those offered under the Homeowners Mortgage Support scheme. On this basis our participation would be extremely limited and therefore we will continue with our own programme, which we believe meets the Government's objectives.”