Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 March 2017
181. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the rights of mortgage holders in respect of the ownership or changed ownership of their mortgage; and the way in which a person may seek this information. [13090/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, when a consumer takes out a loan from a regulated lender it is subject to all the relevant Irish and EU consumer protections. I understand from the Central Bank that most loan agreements include a clause that allows the original lender to sell the loan on to another firm.
It is important to highlight that the transfer of a loan from one entity to another does not change the terms of the contract or the borrower's rights and obligations under the original contract. If a borrower is unsure whether their loan can be sold on by the original lender to another firm, they should check the terms and conditions of the loan agreement or contact the original lender.
When a loan is sold on to another regulated entity, the relevant Irish and EU consumer protections continue to apply. The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing) Act 2015 ensures that borrowers retain the same rights as they had prior to the sale of the loan. These include the various statutory codes (such as the Consumer Protection Code, Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears) issued by the Central Bank of Ireland and the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48) (Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) Regulations 2015 which came into operation in July 2016.
In addition, Provision 3.11 of the Central Bank's Consumer Protection Code 2012 requires that, where a regulated lender intends to transfer all or part of its regulated activities to another regulated entity, it must provide advance notification to both the Central Bank and affected consumers. Since the enactment of the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing) Act 2015 the original lender must now provide a consumer with at least 2 months' notice before transferring all or part of its loan book covered by the Code to another person, including where the transferee is an unregulated entity. Where the transferee is an unregulated entity, the Code now requires that the regulated lender also notify the consumer of the regulated entity that will be 'servicing' the loan for the unregulated entity. Furthermore, in the event that there is a change in the regulated credit servicing firm, the existing firm must also notify the Central Bank and the consumer in advance, in accordance with the timelines set out under Provision 3.11 of the Central Bank's Consumer Protection Code.
