Frontier Statistics: Overdue Loan Balances

A View of Unsecured Consumer Lending Through the Central Credit Register (CCR) - June 2025

Overview

The Central Bank of Ireland has published official statistics on Mortgage Arrears for over a decade. However, statistical data on overdue payments or other indicators of loan non-performance on various types of secured and unsecured consumer lending have not been available before now. We now present frontier statistics in this area, derived primarily from analysis of Central Credit Register (CCR) data. Building from the Total Domestic Credit Frontier Statistics publication, we present a subset of the total domestic credit figure, focused on the total and overdue balance of individual credit. It is important to note that frontier statistics may be revised as the methodology is refined.

The information available in the CCR on loans to individuals (rather than companies or sole traders) is used for the following loan product types:

  • Personal installment loans
  • Credit card debt1
  • Personal Contract Plans (PCPs)
  • Hire Purchases (HP excl. PCP)

Loans to individuals not included in this piece comprise of all types of mortgage or business lending, as well as the following loan types:

  • Charge cards
  • Leasing
  • Overdraft debt

One of the primary attributes we are examining here is ‘overdue payments’. This includes any amount of principal, interest and any fee payment outstanding at the reporting date, which is contractually due and has not been paid (i.e. past due).2 The analysis focuses on balances of overdue loans, as opposed to the number of loans, unless stated otherwise.

Footnote 1 - For credit cards, overdue payments refer to any contractually due amount that has not been paid, i.e. minimum payment amount and any interest or fees due.

Footnote 2 - It is important to note that there are many widely used ways to measure or estimate ‘bad’ or ‘distressed’ loans, and these often involve considering a minimum time, or minimum amount, by which balances need to be overdue to be considered in distress. Such definitions often give consideration to the lender's view on the likelihood of full or partial repayment of the loan. Here however, we are simply looking at the broader metric of payment amounts considered overdue as per their contractual obligations, as recorded in the CCR. The figures presented here therefore will overstate the true level of financial distress on these loans relative to other metrics.

Key Observations

  • The value of overdue balances on ‘active’  loans (loans with a maturity date at some point in the future) in the product types examined amounts to €207mn, or 1.1% of the total ‘active’ outstanding balances across these categories.
  • There are additional overdue amounts on what can be considered as ‘legacy’ loans. €1.6bn of overdue balances were on loans that had been intended to mature before Q2 2025.
  • Overdue balances on active loans are trending downwards generally.

This Frontier Statistics release page is updated with new data quarterly. This page was last updated on 16 April 2026 with data from Q2 2025. 

‘Active’ Versus ‘Legacy’ Loans

A significant fraction of consumer loans reported in the CCR can be considered ‘legacy’ loans – they originate from a number of years ago, and have already passed their expected maturity date. A more relevant calculation for understanding ongoing developments in overdue loans filters the legacy loans out, therefore leaving ‘active’ loans only.

In order to better understand developments in overdue loan payments, we will split overdue loans into these two types:

  • ‘Legacy’ loans, where the loan maturity date has already passed.
  • ‘Active’ loans, where the loan maturity date has not already passed3.

Footnote 3 - For credit cards, this maturity concept is not applicable, so we approximate active overdue loans as those which have been overdue for under 365 days.


It is also important to consider the source of legacy loans. Many legacy loans have an overdue balance equal to the entire size of the loan and were originated before the financial crisis (pre-2008). They are predominantly held by Credit Unions, Retail Credit Firms (RCFs), and Credit Servicing Firms (CSFs). Many of the acquiring firms are not credit originators. RCFs and CSFs often acquire such loans from various financial institutions. The legacy loans are an important part of the total domestic credit figure, but we make this distinction between the two loan types/groups here in order to garner insights into current and emerging trends in overdue loans.

This definitional split between active and legacy is a simplification. However, if we only look at total overdue loans then the largely unchanging legacy overdue amounts will dominate the focus in each period, obscuring any emerging trends over time.

Further Background

The outstanding amount of active credit in the four product types examined is shown in Chart 1 below, along with the amounts considered ‘overdue’ across these product types. 

This represents a relatively small proportion of total outstanding credit, and total outstanding credit to individuals, as can be seen in Chart 2 and the Key Indicator below.

Key Indicator – Overdue active consumer credit to individuals

The total overdue active consumer credit to individuals in June 2025 was €207mn.


Chart 3 (below) shows the overdue active balances as a percentage of the total outstanding balance for each product type that we are examining. We can see there is significant variation of overdue balance proportions depending on the product.



By Lender Type

There is some variation of levels of overdue balance depending on the type of the entity holding the loan. Unsurprisingly, there are higher levels of overdue payments on loans held at the Non-Bank4 entity types. These firms often buy loans that are experiencing known issues with repayment. This contrasts with Banks and Credit Union loans, where overdue balances amount to 0.8% and 1.3% of the total outstanding loan balance respectively.

4 Non-Bank is defined in the explanatory notes at the end of the piece.

Trends Over Time

It is also possible to look at how these overdue balance levels and overdue proportions have changed over time. Again, we focus on these trends for the ‘active’ overdue balances in isolation, as the ‘legacy’ balances will be more static over time. The outstanding amounts in Charts 6 and 7 also exclude the outstanding balances of the ‘legacy’ overdue loans. It is important to note that aggregate outstanding loan balances in Euro terms are generally increasing over time, and overdue balances should be considered in this context. It should also be noted that ‘legacy’ balances are a significant aspect of the credit market, and also worthy of in-depth analysis. Such analysis will be undertaken in future versions of this series.

Overall, there has been a noticeable downward trend in active overdue balances since the beginning of 2024, with the proportion of overdue balances to total balance declining from 1.5% to 1.1%. We can also look at the trends for specific product types.

For personal installment loans, overdue balances have been declining in recent years, even as loan balances have increased. This has led to a dramatic decline in the proportion of loan overdue balances.

For credit cards, overdue balances have increased in recent periods, but this increase coincides with an increase in total credit card balances. It should also be noted that there is a significant seasonality impact on credit card balances, with significant increased card usage seen at certain times during the year.



Background

The Overdue Loan Balances Frontier Statistics publication presents data on loan balances which are classified as overdue in the CCR. This data is published for the first time as a Frontier Statistics release, indicating that the methods and data within are subject to revision. This data will be updated on a quarterly basis. You can learn more about the Frontier Statistics project on the What Are Frontier Statistics webpage.

CCR figures are compiled from the Central Credit Register (CCR), a database containing records of loans and loan applications of over €500 borrowed by Irish residents or governed by Irish law.  The CCR is established by the Central Bank of Ireland under the Credit Reporting Act 2013 as amended. As such, lenders are required to submit information on loans to the CCR.

This publication provides additional context to the Irish consumer credit landscape alongside the Central Bank of Ireland Official Credit and Banking Statistics. Notable differences between these publications may be explained in the Coverage and Scope section.

Coverage and Scope

Data on Overdue Loan Balances is subject to the same coverage and scope as the CCR, from which the data is compiled. Information on the types of lenders and loans included in the CCR can be found on the Central Credit Register website. The lenders included in this publication, and defined in the CCR, are regulated financial service providers (i.e. banks), government (e.g. NAMA), Credit Unions and county councils/local authorities. Irish-resident lenders and lenders in the EEA regulated by other agencies are included in the CCR. This publication also includes non-banks - non-regulated Irish-resident companies which are lenders or holders of mortgage loans as well as other loan types. This includes lenders providing specific loans, for example for property/asset finance and leasing. More information on the composition of non-banks in the CCR is detailed in this Behind the Data report and the full population list is available on the Central Credit Register List of Information Providers.

There are some loan types which are absent from the CCR, including tradeable assets such as loan notes and debt securities, and other loan types including trade credit, intra-group credit and utilities debt. Other loans excluded are loans owed between credit institutions, however loans between other financial corporations such as investment funds are included.

The CCR captures data on loans to individuals as well as to companies. Individuals may also borrow for business purposes without being considered a company. An example of this would be sole traders. This publication addresses this by assigning loans for Individual personal credit - borrowing by individuals where the loan type indicates that the borrowing is likely for personal usage.

This publication relates to domestic credit only, with any loans included in the CCR which are identified as being to non-Irish residents excluded here.

The Statistics Division of the Central Bank of Ireland publishes Credit and Banking Official Statistics. There are key differences in the coverage of this data compared to the Overdue Balances data published under Frontier Statistics. One such difference is that the Credit and Banking data covers resident credit institutions such as banks and Credit Unions. As per the above, this publication also includes other lender types - Government including Local Authorities and Non-Banks.

Data Checks and Revisions

As part of the Frontier Statistics series, the Overdue Loan Balances publication will undergo continuous revisions each quarter, and the data and methodology are subject to change. CCR data are subject to change, and therefore analysis will be repeated each quarter to ensure the most timely data is included.

Data quality checks have been carried out by comparing the Overdue Loan Balances data with other Central Bank of Ireland Official Statistics data sets. This includes cross-checking the values obtained with the figures for Total Loans, Mortgage Loans and Credit Card Balances. Comparisons were also made with the Mortgage Arrears data set, namely PDH Loans and BTL Loans.

Definitions

Credit: Credit includes loans, deferred payments and other financial accommodations, including (but not limited to) personal loans, mortgages and commercial loans. The CCR does not include utility loans and credit provided by one credit institution to another, amongst others. See more information on the Central Credit Register website.

Central Credit Register (CCR): A database of loans of €500 or more borrowed by a person living in the Irish State at the time of applying for the loan, or borrowed via a loan agreement/application which is governed by Irish law. The CCR was set up in 2013 by the Central Bank of Ireland under the Credit Reporting Act 2013 (as amended). Lenders submit information on existing loans and loan applications to the CCR.

Borrower: Borrowers include individuals. The CCR collects information on borrowers who have made a credit application, has made a credit agreement or is a guarantor. They are a person (i.e. an individual or a sole-trader) or a legal entity.

Lender: The CCR collects data from Credit Information Providers (Lenders). This includes Banks, Non-Banks, Local Authorities, Government and Credit Unions.

Credit agreement covered by Irish law: The CCR contains loans whose credit agreements are covered by Irish law. Examples of this are large corporates and individuals moving in and out of the state and across the border.

Bank: Bank in this dataset refers to licensed credit institutions as published on the Central Credit Register website. This means that lending by traditional retail banks, as well as lending by international banks with limited interaction with the general public is considered within bank lending here, It also includes, where identifiable, non-bank lending entities which are owned by banks, and are therefore considered to be part of a banking group.

Non-bank: Lenders or holders of mortgage loans which are not banks, Credit Unions, or government-sponsored entities. Many non-bank lenders provide specific loans or cater for specific borrowers, such as property finance and asset finance and leasing. Others provide a combination of the aforementioned loan types.

Credit Union: A Credit Union is a financial co-operative formed for the promotion of thrift among its members by the accumulation of their savings; the creation of sources of credit for the mutual benefit of its members at a fair and reasonable rate of interest; and the use and control of members’ savings for their mutual benefit.

Individual Personal Loans: This relates to borrowing undertaken by individuals for their personal use, as opposed to business usage. Buy-to-let mortgage lending is also included within the individual personal loan category.

Data

The files below contain the data within the charts above, including historical data.

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