P.O. loan money short?

Press, 14 January 1982, Page 4

P.O. loan money short?

PA Wellington The Post Office Savings Bank had applied stringent restrictions on mortgage lending, said Labour’s Shadow Minister of Housing, Mr M. K. Moore, yesterday. Mr Moore said the Post Office gave less than 10 second mortgages to ac-count-holders during December, compared with several hundred in other unions. He said, the information came from “very accurate

sources” and confirmed speculation that the P. 0.5.8. had tightened lending criteria because of a shortage of loan money. He believed only those with “considerable" savings with the Post Office would now be eligible for mortgage finance, cutting eligibility 80 per cent, “a body blow for those seeking loans at reasonable rates.” “The Post Office second mortgage restrictions now

are due to arbitrary restrictions imposed by the Government on what the Post Office is allowed, to lend to its customers," — 10 per cent compared with 20 per cent elsewhere, Mr Moore said.

"Clearly, there is a need for the Post Office to play a key role in housing, especially at the lower end of the loan market. The Government should give the Post Office its money tied up in the Consolidated Revenue Account to do this if it is at all serious about solving the housing crisis,” he said. A Post Office spokesman said the P. 0.5.8. never disclosed its eligibility criteria and said the availability of mortgages — it lends only on second mortgages — depended on the availability of finance and varied from month to month. No comment on the accuracy of Mr Moore's assertions was available yesterday.