Banks and building societies will be asked to tighten their mortgage lending procedures following a review by the financial regulator.
There have been ongoing concerns that some customers are being allowed to overestimate their income when taking loans and that they may subsequently not be able to afford mortgage repayments.
The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) said today it had considered thefindings of a study undertaken into mortgage lending and "the prudential and consumer issues raised".
However, it said no matters had come to light which raised questions of financial soundness.
IFSRA's move follows statistics published today by the Central Bank, which reveal annual mortgage growth has been close to 24 per cent throughout the year and is now higher than any stage since December 2000. Figures for September show financial institutions lent nearly €1.4 billion to homebuyers.
The Central Bank has previously warned institutions about the need for prudent lending. The bank's analysts are worried that some institutions have stretched their lending policies to the limit, increasting the salary multiples traditionally allowed to borrowers.
Now following its own study, IFSRA said it will write to each mortgage lender with its conclusions on lending policy. However, the body said it was not possible to publish findings on specific institutions.
While the regulator said no matters had come to light that raised questions of financial soundness, it will seek "a tightening up" in two areas.
These areas relate to client income verification and the funding of mortgage loan balances. "This is to strengthen the procedures to ensure that loans are properly secured and will be repaid in full," IFSRA said.
The body will consult with both the industry and consumers with a view to introducing a requirement on every mortgage lender to disclose the basis on which they have calculated the repayment ability of their customers.
"Our job is to promote the soundness of the financial institutions and the protection of their customers," said Mr Liam O'Reilly, chief executive of IFSRA. "It is important that institutions should only advance loans that are fully suited to their customers' circumstances."
Mr O'Reilly said that while the mortgage lending study is now completed, IFSRA will continue to monitor lending practices closely and will begin another round of "stress-testing exercises" on the lending institutions as part of its ongoing work.