As the Deputy will be aware, within the remit of the Central Bank’s responsibilities for safeguarding stability and protecting consumers, its approach to mortgage arrears resolution is focused on ensuring the fair treatment of borrowers through a strong consumer protection framework and ensuring that lenders have appropriate arrears resolution strategies and operations in place.
The Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) forms part of the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Framework. It is a statutory Code, issued under Section 117 of the Central Bank Act, 1989.
The CCMA is a lengthy document which has evolved to reflect the changing times and situations which have arisen in the area of consumer protection. For example, an Addendum to the CCMA was published to take account of the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015 which stated that with effect from 8 July 2015, credit servicing firms, as defined in the 2015 Act, must apply for authorisation to the Central Bank and that the CCMA 2013 would apply to these firms. The great benefit of the CCMA not being a piece of primary legislation is that it can be amended relatively quickly to respond to changing events, pursuant to Section 117 of the Central Bank Act, 1989, while still remaining statutory.
The CCMA is aimed specifically at the process to be followed by relevant firms, to ensure borrowers in arrears or pre-arrears in respect of a mortgage loan secured on a primary residence are treated in a timely, transparent and fair manner. A key element of the Central Bank’s role is ensuring that the consumer protection regulatory framework is fit for purpose so that consumers best interests are protected. To this end, I have also asked the Central Bank to carry out a review of the CCMA to ensure it remains as effective as possible and for the review to be completed as soon as possible.
