I propose to take Questions Nos. 191 to 194, inclusive, together.
The Central Credit Register (CCR) is established by the Central Bank of Ireland under the Credit Reporting Act 2013. Under that Act, lenders are obliged to submit personal and credit information on loans of €500 or more, and to enquire on the CCR when considering loan applications for €2,000 or more. Lenders may, if they wish, also enquire on the CCR when considering a loan application for less than €2,000; if the borrower has sought a restructure; if a loan is in arrears; or if there has been a breach of the limit on a credit card or overdraft.
In relation to the impact of Covid-19 payment breaks on the CCR, the Central Bank has made it clear to all lenders that either a full or partial payment break agreed between a lender and a borrower as a response to Covid-19 is not, in itself, an event that is reportable to the CCR. Furthermore, it has also clarified that a payment break agreed between a lender and a borrower as a response to Covid-19 should not be reported to the CCR as either a “missed payment” or as a “restructure event”.
In relation to the impact on new lending, it should be noted that the information on a credit report provided by the CCR is factual in nature (and is, in turn, based on information provided to it by lenders) and it does not contains any guidance, recommendation or prohibition for lenders on what decision they should make on an application for credit. It remains a commercial matter for lenders, subject to complying with applicable law and regulatory requirements governing the provision of credit to consumers and other borrowers, to make their own lending decisions in accordance with their own credit policies and risk appetites. Nevertheless, borrowers may wish to note that they may access their credit report free of charge (subject to fair usage) at www.centralcreditregister.ie.
In relation to the Irish Credit Bureau, this is a private bureau and it falls outside of the regulatory remit of the Central Bank.
Regarding the number of Covid-19 payment breaks, recent data from the Banking Payments Federation of Ireland indicates that at the end of October approximately 153,000 Irish loans had availed of a Covid-19 payment break and that, of these, approximately 23,000 were active at that point. Furthermore, the BPFI data also indicates that 76% of accounts with expired payment breaks returned to full payments on the existing term and that a significant further number returned to full payments on an extended term.