Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 December 2020
205. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Finance the efforts his officials have made in view of the revised ECB guidance on Covid-19 moratoria for loans to ensure this is being implemented for businesses and consumers in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43042/20]
View answerI assume the Deputy is referring to the European Banking Authority who published a statement on 2 December on the reactivation of guidelines on payment breaks. These guidelines relate to how banks treat loans that have availed of payment breaks for regulatory purposes. These guidelines were previously in force until 30 September 2020.
In September, the Tánaiste, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I met with the retail banks and the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) who agreed to provide suitable supports, both short term and longer term, to borrowers who are experiencing difficulties on a case-by-case basis.
Many borrowers can and are returning to a position where they can repay their loans; however, many borrowers will be unable to return to full repayments, and these borrowers will require further support. Payment breaks are available on a case-by-case basis as one of a suite of measures lenders offer to customers facing difficulties. The different lenders have options in place to support borrowers including for business borrowers and mortgage holders. These include interest only, partial payments or breaks to payments if appropriate.
Each lender will show flexibility and borrowers who need help with repayments or have concerns about their abilities to repay loans should contact their lender in the first instance. The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) is also available to help anyone who wishes to have an objective and non-judgmental discussion on their options.
I will continue to work with the Central Bank, as regulator, to ensure that the Central Bank consumer protection framework will be fully available to borrowers that will still need support due to the economic impact of Covid-19.
The Central Bank remains focused on ensuring that lenders are appropriately supporting borrowers whose incomes have been negatively affected by the pandemic. The Central Bank outlined its expectations to all lenders on how they should be supporting borrowers who are experiencing financial distress arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, and is supervising lenders to ensure that these expectations are met.
