Financial Debt Specialist Alec Sohmer Comments on Rise in Strategic Defaulters in Ireland
Bohemia, NY (PRWEB) August 22, 2013 -- On August 22, Alec Sohmer, a financial debt specialist, responds to an article published by Bloomberg, which discusses how many Irish banks are targeting borrowers who are purposely defaulting on their home loans.
According to an article published by Bloomberg on August 13th titled “Irish Banks Chasing Defaulters Who Sleep Well at Night,” 20 percent of all Allied Irish’s home-loan arrears are caused by strategic defaulters. Strategic defaulters are people who can afford to pay their home loans, but choose not to. Instead, the article says, these borrowers are likely missing payments in order to settle other loans. As these borrowers ignore their mortgage payment obligations, banks are suffering.
“About a quarter of all mortgages in Ireland are in trouble,” the article says. “The Irish Government committed 64 billion Euros ($85 billion) to save its banks after they went on a lending spree that fueled a decade-long property boom that collapsed in 2008.”
Alec Sohmer, financial debt expert with Plymouth Rock Capital, says the European housing market is still very weak. “Europe’s real estate collapse is partly due to the immense amount of public debt,” he says. “Due to the strains on the economy, people are taking out more loans and succumbing to debt. With multiple loans to manage, most people put their mortgage to the side, resulting in defaulting home loans. It’s an endless cycle.”
Sohmer affirms the need to target strategic defaulters. “Banks need to take a greater look at which defaulters make enough money to pay their mortgage,” he says. “By getting these borrowers to pay, they can relieve a bit of the debt. However, banks need to be cautious about how they contact these defaulters. To avoid cases of harassment and unlawful collection behavior, banks need to ensure that the collection agencies they are using understand and obey current laws."
Alec Sohmer is a strategic business leader with 20 years of Board-level experience. He has served in many interim management positions for businesses requiring significant turnaround or restructuring. He is able to increase revenue streams by utilizing a variety of line management techniques. In his two decades of experience, he has dramatically increased revenues of businesses by identifying untapped markets.
Alec Sohmer, Plymouth Rock Capital, http://plymouthrockcapital.com, +1 866-991-1521, [email protected]
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