Mr. Kevin Johnson:

The Central Bank published a report on PCPs and I hope it will take them more into its regulatory framework. It is not just about PCPs. There is also very easy access to in-store credit, which is another area of concern. We genuinely do not have a level playing field. Much of this comes back to ensuring there is appropriate regulation for all lenders to protect consumers. Similar to what we spoke about earlier, we must ensure the message is getting out to the general public so that they understand. It is very difficult when it is made so easy for some of these businesses to provide credit while in the credit union there are certain processes people must follow.

Obviously, it is all done under the auspices of protecting the consumer and making sure the consumer has the relevant information, but we do not have a level playing field. We would ask the regulators to broaden their reach and look at all the providers of credit. We would like to see the PCPs that have started going further to include all providers of credit. Then people can start to see like for like and see the true value that they can get from their credit union.