Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2017
225. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the action that will be taken against banks that have appointed receivers to properties that have been part of the tracker examination since the beginning of the examination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46407/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, the Central Bank is independent in the performance of its duties in the supervision of regulated financial service providers and it is working to ensure the Tracker Mortgage Examination is completed as soon as possible. The Central Bank has advised that in line with its mandate to ensure that the best interests of consumers are protected, the immediate focus of the Tracker Mortgage Examination is to ensure that lenders prioritise the identification of impacted customers, stop the harm, and then provide appropriate redress and compensation in line with the ‘Principles for Redress’ developed by the Central Bank.
The lender is to take appropriate steps to ensure that any harm potentially being caused to impacted customers is stopped at the earliest possible time after a potential relevant issue is identified, as follows:
- The lender is to cease charging the incorrect rates of interest to potentially impacted cohorts of customer accounts and to apply correct rates of interest to those accounts after each cohort is identified and to inform the Central Bank in advance of doing so.
- The Central Bank expects that lenders will not take steps in the legal process (including issuing demand letters) and will implement controls and/or measures to ensure that potentially impacted customers do not lose possession of their properties during the period from when the potential relevant issue is identified until the lender satisfies itself that potentially impacted accounts are not in fact impacted by the issue or redress and compensation occurs. Such controls and measures may include, but are not limited to, pausing legal activity and repossessions of properties and informing customers that wish to undertake assisted voluntary surrenders of their properties, of the possibility that they may be included in a redress scheme in the future.
- Where the lender is satisfied that a potentially impacted account is not impacted by the potential relevant issue or any other relevant issue, it may cease to apply the said controls and measures to the account. The lender is to put appropriate systems in place regarding decisions to cease to apply such controls and measures. As part of this process, senior management is to approve any decision to cease to apply the controls and measures to an account in advance of the controls and measures being dis-applied.
- Before the lender takes any steps against customers that it has not previously identified as being affected by the potential relevant issue that may result in such customers losing possession of their properties (for example by commencing or advancing legal proceedings to take possession of the properties), or before the lender facilitates such customers in the sale of their properties (for example by way of assisted voluntary sale), the lender is to satisfy itself that such customers are not affected by the potential relevant issue or any other relevant issue. The lender is to put appropriate systems in place regarding the process by which it satisfies itself in this regard. As part of the process, senior management is to be satisfied that such customers are not affected by the potential relevant issue or any other relevant issue.
Where there is doubt regarding whether or not the potentially impacted customers are in fact impacted by potentially relevant issues or any other issues, lenders should not take steps in the legal process (including issuing demand letters) until lenders are satisfied that it is fully in order to proceed.
