Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 November 2013
164. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Finance the actions being taken by his Department to curb the excesses of the banks in dealing with distressed homeowners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50275/13]
View answerThe Government is very aware of the significant difficulties some homeowners are facing in meeting their mortgage obligations and it is committed to advancing appropriate measures to assist those mortgage holders who are experiencing real and genuine difficulty. As the Deputy is aware, the Central Bank publishes quarterly statistics on the level of mortgage arrears. Separately from Central Bank quarterly reports, my Department is now publishing monthly data on primary home mortgage restructures put in place by the six main lenders covered by the Central Bank’s MART process. This will place more timely information in the public domain in relation to the progress by the main banks to resolve mortgages in difficulty. This should greatly assist the objective of placing more information in the public domain regarding the progress being made by banks on mortgage restructures.
The Central Bank Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears provides an integrated and cohesive package of consumer protection measures for borrowers either facing or in mortgage arrears. This provides that mortgage lenders should allow for a flexible approach in the handling of arrears and pre-arrears cases and that they should aim at assisting the borrower who is in genuine difficulty as far as possible having regard to the specific circumstances.
It reflects the current mortgage arrears situation and seeks to deliver on the following principles, to:
- Ensure appropriate resolution of each borrower’s arrears situation;
- Ensure that lenders deal with borrowers in a fair and transparent manner;
- Support and facilitate meaningful engagement between lenders and borrowers; and
- Ensure borrower awareness of the benefits of co-operating with their lender, and the consequences of not co-operating.
The Code places particular requirements on lenders, when communicating with customers, to ensure that:
- The level of communication is proportionate and not excessive;
- Communications are not aggressive, intimidating or harassing;
- Borrowers are given sufficient time to complete an action they have committed to before follow-up communication is attempted;
- Steps are taken to agree future communication with borrowers.
A lender must also produce and implement a Board approved policy regarding communications with borrowers to ensure that these requirements are met. If a borrower is not satisfied with a lender’s compliance with the requirements of the Code, or with the lender’s treatment of the borrower’s case, then any complaint by the customer must be dealt with in accordance with the complaints provisioning set out in the Consumer Protection Code. The Central Bank has informed me that it is committed to the on-going monitoring of lenders’ compliance with the Code and will closely monitor its implementation by lenders.
