Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 40:

In page 15, subsection (2)(a), lines 26 and 27, to delete "agreement, or" and substitute the following:"agreement or has requested any other credit information provider to change the nature or term of any other credit agreement or a guarantee or indemnity given in connection with any other credit agreement, or".

Amendments Nos. 42 and 43 are with regard to subsection (2), and are required to provide access to the register where the credit information subject requests a change to the nature or term or fails to comply with an obligation under a credit agreement with another credit information provider. The effect of this will be to broaden the scope of access for a lender, beyond the performance of credit agreements it has entered into with a particular credit information subject, to the performance of credit agreements entered into by that credit information subject with other credit information providers. This will allow a credit information provider a fuller picture of a person's indebtedness resulting in more responsible lending.

Amendments Nos. 40 to 42, inclusive, will, among other things, enable the effective monitoring of pre-arrears credits, a practice encouraged by the Central Bank of Ireland and reflected, for example, in its code of conduct on mortgage arrears, which includes a protocol for credit institutions to follow once a borrower indicates he or she is likely to face financial difficulties. In broader terms, the importance of engaging with borrowers where early warning signs have been detected was referenced by the Governor of the Central Bank at its conference in February of this year on how to fix distressed property markets, as a means of helping to prevent a spiral of indebtedness.

It is to the benefit of both the credit information provider and the credit information subject to have transparency with regard to the debt position of the credit information subject at all times during the life cycle of the credit so as to enable the credit information provider to assist the credit information subject in addressing any debt problems. This transparency would also enable the credit information provider to maintain or adjust its expectations regarding the performance of the credit and associated risk weighting and credit loan grade, where necessary, during the credit cycle.

A new subsection (3) to be introduced through amendment No. 43 will include portfolio analysis of a credit information provider's own records as a legitimate purpose for accessing information. This aim had been outlined in the original interagency working group report. This is of particular importance to smaller lenders, who may not have the capacity to perform this level of portfolio analysis within their own systems, but has also been highlighted by the IBF as a key benefit for its members.

Amendment No. 52 enables the bank to decide when access to the information on the register is to be given and allows it to produce regulations dealing with the timing of monthly reports.