Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 February 2017
168. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of legal proceedings initiated by each of the State-backed banks in each of the past 12 months, in tabular form, by proceedings regarding principal home debt, buy-to-let debt, commercial debt and other personal debt; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5387/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, the Relationship Framework Agreements define the arm's-length nature of the relationship between the State and the banks in which the State has an investment, and any commercial decisions, including initiating legal action where it is deemed necessary, is decision exclusively for the management and board of each institution.
In response to the Deputy's question AIB have provided the following response:
"AIB prioritises reaching consensual arrangements with its customers in difficulty and only resorts to court proceedings where this is not possible. In cases where customers do not meaningfully engage or do not engage at all with the bank or reject the offer of a sustainable restructuring solution, AIB will pursue enforcement through the court process. It is important to note that the initiation of legal proceedings does not necessarily result in repossession. As soon as a customer in difficulty engages and enters into a restructured payment arrangement, the bank will pause the legal process. AIB offers the largest suite of solutions and operates multiple engagement channels that facilitate the maximum possible levels of engagement with customers in difficulty.
All information in relation to AIB's loan portfolios is contained in the Risk Management section (pages 36 - 80) of the bank's 2016 Half-Yearly Financial Report."
PTSB have provided the following response:
"Through 2016 permanent tsb issued no new legal proceedings regarding principal home debt, buy-to-let debt or personal debt. This reflected in part a decision by the bank to pause the issuing of such proceedings while it reviewed accounts following lessons learnt in the 2015 Mortgage Redress Programme."
In response to a similar Parliamentary Question Bank of Ireland have responded:
"Due to commercial confidentiality and sensitivities in respect of individual client cases, Bank of Ireland is not in a position to provide a breakdown of the type requested. Relevant disclosures in respect of legal cases involving Bank of Ireland are publicly available through the Courts Service (including on its website)."
