Professor Philip Lane:

I emphasise that all of the consumer protection codes and the wider legal framework remain available to people who find themselves in a troubled situation, including the code of conduct of servicing firms that we are responsible for, or the important insolvency framework we have here, which is quite an innovative development, or the legal system itself. I agree with the Chair that there is an issue of unfamiliarity. If one had a loan with a nationally known bank here but the loan is subsequently sold to someone else, it will create some uncertainty. However, regardless of who owns the loan the same legal framework and the same codes apply. The same consumer protection framework is there, no matter who owns the loan. This is the fundamental issue.