Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform
Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (Resumed): Insolvency Service of Ireland
12:20 pm
Mr. Christopher Lehane:
We have, yes. We have met all the CEOs and we discussed bankruptcy, and the implications of it, in detail. There is a reality and that is what I have said. When unsecured debt is written off and when the banks say that they are not scared of bankruptcy, to an extent they should not be because while they may be equally unsecured creditors, their big worry is the secured debt. The Armageddon in a lot of bankruptcy is not for the secured lender, it is for the credit union - the trade creditor - and other types of unsecured debt. When people sit down with the banks and have a total conversation, I am not saying that I am adding to the stick that is beating them over the head to be worried. In bankruptcy situations, they actually get their mortgages paid.