Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 January 2014
36. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 196 of 21 January 2014, if sub-prime mortgages are subject to the mortgage arrears resolution targets process which will require institutions to have made offers of sustainable solutions to 75% of distressed borrowers by June of this year and concluded solutions in the 35% of cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4675/14]
View answer37. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 196 of 21 January 2014, the number of sub-prime mortgages that have been restructured; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4676/14]
View answer45. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 196 of 21 January 2014, the number of orders for repossession granted to sub-prime lenders in 2012 and 2013; the proportion this represents of all repossessions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4760/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 36, 37 and 45 together.
According to the Central Bank of Ireland, the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets (MART) were introduced, as a prudential policy measure, to set progressively more demanding quantitative targets for specified Credit Institutions to process mortgage arrears cases and achieve sustainable outcomes.
The specified Credit Institutions to which the MART applies are:
- ACC;
- AIB;
- Bank of Ireland;
- KBC Bank Ireland;
- Permanent tsb;
- Ulster Bank.
The targets are set in relation to both Principal Dwelling Homes (PDH) and Buy to Let (BTL) mortgages and the above named institutions cover the vast majority of the mortgage book in Ireland, accounting for nine out of ten mortgages.
Retail credit lenders, which are not licensed to accept deposits such as sub-prime mortgage providers are not subject to the prudential standards set out in the MART. However, the same consumer protection framework applies to retail credit lenders as to other regulated lenders including the Consumer Protection Code and the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears ( CCMA ) and the Central Bank engages with these firms in relation to their treatment of borrowers under the mortgage arrears resolution process. In particular, the CCMA sets out requirements for all mortgage lenders, including retail credit firms, dealing with borrowers in arrears or pre-arrears on a mortgage secured on a primary home. It provides a strong consumer protection framework to ensure that borrowers struggling to keep up mortgage repayments are treated in a fair and transparent manner by their lender and that long term resolution is sought by lenders with each of their co-operating borrowers.
The Central Bank has advised that for the sub-prime category of lender, there are 17,807 PDH accounts of which 4,341 have been restructured. In addition, out of the 659 BTL mortgage accounts, the Central Bank has advised that 68 have been restructured.
The Central Bank has informed me that the number of orders of repossession for this category is not available at the moment but I will send this data to the Deputy as soon as it becomes available.
