Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 December 2014
52. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which homeowners whose mortgage loan books have been acquired by unregulated third parties can be assured of being appropriately accommodated by such lending agencies in a way which has primary regard for the homeowner where he or she makes a proposal that is reasonable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46517/14]
View answerWhere the purchaser of a loan book is not a regulated entity in Ireland, the purchaser may voluntarily apply the Central Bank codes when managing loan books. In the case of homeowners whose loan is now owned by an unregulated entity, the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) may be applied in the same way that it would be by a regulated lender. The CCMA is designed to support co-operating borrowers and provides extensive protection to customers in difficulty. It specifies the concrete actions lenders must take in the fair treatment of their customers in order to deal with their mortgage arrears situation as part of a resolution (or MARP) process; it also specifies the series of steps which borrowers need to take in order to engage with their lender.
Of course, voluntary compliance is not enforceable and the Government committed in March 2014 to ensuring that the same protections are available for all consumers whose loans have been sold.
The mission of the Government in bringing forward this legislation is straightforward: To ensure that borrowers whose loans are sold by a regulated entity to a currently unregulated entity maintain the same regulatory protections as they had prior to the sale, including under various Central Bank Codes (including the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA)).
In July and August of this year the Department of Finance ran a public consultation seeking views on this proposed legislation. There have been nineteen submissions received from a range of respondents including the financial services industry, consumer groups, public representatives, individuals and other stakeholders. Officials in the Department of Finance have carefully considered the submissions and have been working intensively with the Central Bank and the Office of the Attorney General to progress this legislation. My officials will meet with and brief the Joint Committee on Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform about the legislation on 3 December. It is anticipated that the legislation will be published by the end of this year.
