Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Matthew Elderfield, the Irish central bank’s head of financial regulation, said he’s “breathing down the necks” of lenders on their handling of mortgage arrears.

If banks “persist” in raising variable interest rates, they risk a cap on rates being introduced, he said in an interview with Dublin-based RTE Radio aired today.

“They should think very carefully about mortgage increases,” he said. “If the rates continue to go up like this, I think the banks do risk that sort a response.”

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