Clare Daly
Ceist:176. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance his plans to regulate a situation (details supplied). [5561/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 5 February 2019
Ceisteanna (176)
Freagraí scríofa
The Central Bank of Ireland advises that the general lending practice of mortgage providers is that, when a mortgaged property is sold, the security on that property is released and the mortgage redeemed and if credit is sought for any subsequent purchase of a property, that credit will then be subject to a new mortgage contract with the interest rate and other mortgage terms of the new mortgage applicable at the time of the new contract. However, these are commercial matters for lenders and, subject to complying with the macro prudential lending rules and other regulatory requirements governing the provision of mortgage credit to consumers, there is no legal or regulatory measure which would prevent a mortgage lender from offering new and/or additional amounts of credit to an existing borrower in the context of purchasing a new home on terms which are identical or comparable to the terms of the existing tracker mortgage. Indeed some lenders have developed specific mortgage products to facilitate greater housing mobility by tracker mortgage holders; for example, I note from the internet that Bank of Ireland has such a mortgage offering:-
(https://personalbanking.bankofireland.com/borrow/mortgages/mover/starter-tracker-for-mover/).
I consider that these competing commercial considerations of borrowers and lenders can best be resolved in the context of a normal mortgage market situation and I have no current plans to propose particular legislation in this area.