Seniors Money Mortgages (Ireland) Designated Activity Company, trading as Seniors Money/Spry/Spry Finance is authorised by the Central Bank as a Retail Credit Firm (RCF).
RCFs are required to comply with all relevant requirements of financial services legislation, including the regulatory requirements set out in the Central Bank's existing codes of conduct and regulations. These include:
• the Consumer Protection Code 2012,
• the Code of Conduct for Mortgage Arrears 2013,
• the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48) (Lending to Small and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) Regulations 2015 (SME Regulations),
• the Fitness and Probity Regime,
• the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48(1))
• Minimum Competency Regulations 2017, and
• the Minimum Competency Code 2017.
The Central Bank Consumer Protection Code set out a number of specific requirements, which relate to advertising, warnings, suitability and the provision of information, that specifically apply to lifetime mortgages.
For example, prior to offering, recommending, arranging or providing a lifetime mortgage to a personal consumer, a regulated entity must inform the personal consumer of the consequences of purchasing a lifetime mortgage and the consumer must be provided with the following:
• the circumstances in which the loan will have to be repaid;
• details of the interest rate that will be charged;
• an explanation of the impact of the rolling up of the interest over the duration of the loan;
• an indication of the amount required to repay the loan at maturity;
• the effect on the existing mortgage, if any, and
• an indication of the likely early redemption costs which would be incurred if the loan was redeemed on the third and fifth anniversary of the loan and at five yearly intervals thereafter.
Any documents received by a consumer and advertisements for lifetime mortgages must contain relevant warning statements as outlined in the Code and, in addition, a consumer must be made aware of the importance of seeking independent legal advice regarding the taking a lifetime mortgage.
RCFs are required to comply with authorisation requirements and standards which require that RCFs must be able to demonstrate that they are in a position to conduct their affairs in a manner that ensures the best interests of their customers are protected.
