Irish mortgage arrears fall, long-term cases edge up

DUBLIN, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The number of Irish homes in mortgage arrears for more than 90 days fell to a three-and-a-half-year low in the second quarter, though slightly more householders were more than two years behind in payments.

The proportion of residential mortgages in arrears over 90 days fell to 9.3 percent in the quarter, the seventh successive quarterly fall and down from 9.8 first percent in the previous three months, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

The Central Bank said those in arrears for between one and two years showed the largest quarter-on-quarter decline, of 12.9 percent, while an additional 108 accounts fell into arrears over 720 days, a similar rate of increase to the previous month. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by John Stonestreet)