Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 June 2016
141. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the protections available to a residential mortgage holder whose loan is owned by a regulated entity which are not available where the loan is owned by a non-regulated entity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14148/16]
View answerI am not aware of any protections that a residential mortgage holder has where their loan is owned by a regulated entity which would not be available where the loan is owned by a non-regulated entity.
The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act, 2015 was introduced to fill the consumer protection gap where loans were sold by the original lender to an unregulated firm. The 2015 Act introduced a regulatory regime for a new type of entity called a 'credit servicing firm'. Credit Servicing Firms are now subject to the provisions of Irish financial services law that apply to 'regulated financial service providers'. This ensures that relevant borrowers, whose loans are sold to third parties, maintain the same regulatory protections they had prior to the sale, including under the various statutory codes.
