Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 November 2018
178. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of infractions of the code of conduct on mortgage arrears recorded since 2013; the number of fines or other penalties which resulted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48273/18]
View answerThe Central Bank assures me that it assertively supervises compliance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) and it will continue to do so.
No firm has been sanctioned for a breach of the CCMA to date. However, in 2015, the Central Bank conducted a themed inspection of lenders’ compliance with the CCMA.
The purpose of the inspection was to examine lenders’ processes for dealing with borrowers and to ensure that lenders can demonstrate full compliance with the letter and spirit of the CCMA. As part of the inspection, the Central Bank inspected seven lenders under the four key areas of ‘resolution of arrears in a timely manner’, ‘transparency of borrower communications’, ‘fair process’ and ‘process improvement and controls’.
Formal supervisory requirements, with specific timelines for remediation, were imposed on those lenders where the Central Bank identified risks to borrowers.
The Central Bank operates an assertive risk based approach to supervision which is supported by a credible threat of enforcement. The Central Bank’s enforcement strategy is aimed at promoting principled and ethical behaviour in regulated entities and those that work in such entities. The Central Bank will take appropriate action where regulated entities and/or individuals fall short of those expected standards of behaviour.
The Central Bank's Enforcement division uses a wide range of tools to take action against regulated entities and/or individuals which fall short of our expected standards of behaviour including Administrative Sanctions, Fitness and Probity investigations and other enforcement tools.
