Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Fleming for moving the amendment. I understand that the aim of Deputy McGrath's amendment is to ensure the consumer is correctly informed and protected and it does so by seeking to impose obligations on credit servicing and other firms in relation to the credit which is sold. The first set of obligations are around commercial information on the deal to sell the credit, that is the terms on which it was sold and whether the loans were sold at a discount. The terms of the individual's contract with the lender are not changed by the sale of the loan and therefore it is difficult to see the benefit of making the information known to the borrower. Even if the overall loan book is sold at a discount, as Deputy Fleming said, the amount owned by an individual borrower is not changed nor are the other terms and conditions. Furthermore, usually these loans are bundled for sale at an aggregate price and individual loans are not separately priced, making it impossible for customers to be advised on the exact terms or price under which their loan was sold. Also, when NAMA acquired loans the borrowers were not told what discount applied, for much the same reasons even though it is in the commercial space rather than residential loans.

The second set of obligations mentioned in this amendment are around the borrower's rights under the code of conduct on mortgage arrears and access to the Financial Services Ombudsman. Following the enactment of this legislation, these rights will not be changed by the sale of loan books. The rights in question are already provided for and when the President signs this law these rights will be maintained. I do not consider it necessary that the borrowers be given an additional reminder of their rights when these rights and all the rights they had before the loan book was sold remain the same. This debate and the assurances we are giving today should be communicated to persons whose loans are sold so that they are assured that they retain all rights and that these rights will be protected by the Central Bank under the code of conduct governing mortgage arrears. I do not think the amendment is necessary and I will not be accepting it.