Bank chief: rate rise will spark ‘tsunami' of repossessions

Britain faces a wave of home repossessions when interest rates begin to rise again, one of the country's leading bankers has warned.

Richard Banks, CEO of UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), said in an interview with the Guardian the number of people falling behind on mortgage repayments could get "scary" if lenders did nothing to prepare for higher rates. Banks said UKAR, the body that runs £80bn of mortgages bailed out by the taxpayer during the banking crisis, has seen a significant portion of its mortgage holders fall behind on payments, many by six months or more. "You can see if you don't do something about it, you can see a tsunami," he said. "If you don't get into the hills you could get drowned by this. If you ...