MORTGAGE DEBTS

Southland Times, Issue 21425, 20 June 1931, Page 5

MORTGAGE DEBTS

COMMENT BY BANKER. (Per United Press Association.) Wellington, June 19. The chairman of directors of the Bank of New Zealand, Mr William Watson, made the following reference to mortgages in the course of bis address at the annual meeting of proprietors to-day:— Continuance of the moratorium of 1914 for years beyond the period for which there was justification brought mortgages over landed properties into strong disfavour, the result being that borrowers on mortgage of land find that funds for such investments are more or less limited to those in the hands of the various Government lending departments. There are, no doubt, cases where mortgagees have attempted to deal harshly with mortgagors, but we have no hesitation in saying that in the vast majority the last thing a mortgagee wants is default to be made. In recent years, large sums have been written off amounts of mortgage debts, extension of time granted, and interest rates reduced. A mortgagor who “plays the game” has little to fear from his mortgagee, but it is regrettable to have to say that a great many mortgagors do not “play the game.” Last session of Parliament, another moratorium on mortgages was enacted, which we fear will do more harm than good, inasmuch as it will tend to make lenders shyer than ever of mortgages, and, in future, to force a greater volume of business than ever into the hands of Government departments.