Ms Derville Rowland:

I want to add to that because there may be people listening who are worried. We all acknowledge how worrying it is for people who are in distress or worried about paying their mortgage or who may be in arrears. The code of conduct on mortgage arrears and the consumer protection code apply equally, whether one's loan is owned by a bank that is regulated or sold to an unregulated loan owner. The protections of the code travel with the sale of the loan. People are entitled to expect the full adherence to the code of conduct on mortgage arrears and the consumer protection code whether they are dealing with a regulated bank or whether their loan has been sold to an unregulated loan owner. It is important that people realise that and engage to the maximum extent because the code of conduct represents the Central Bank of Ireland working to the maximum it can within the framework of the State as it is currently structured. The example that was given was a proposal coming from a personal insolvency practitioner which means that the case has sadly reached the stage where it is in the phase of the insolvency service trying to support somebody to come to a sustainable solution. It is important to know there are a number of actors in the system of the State to deal with that. People have the support of the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS, and I know the insolvency service is concerned with being as active as it can in that. The protections travel, notwithstanding where the ownership of the loan rests.