It also made business conditions more difficult for many firms, and this – together with the effects of the increases in other costs, slowing household demand and tighter credit conditions – has been reflected in the various business surveys over recent months. Confidence in international credit markets has continued to wax and wane.
A number of exemptions from the measures are also included in the regulations, reflecting specific circumstances of the Irish mortgage market at the time of introduction. Borrowers in negative equity, for example, are exempt from the loan-to-value restrictions while mortgage holders switching between lenders, without an increase in principal (i.e. switchers), are exempt from both the loan-to-value and loan-to-income restrictions.