Mr. Ed Sibley:

I thank the Governor and Deputy Doherty. On the MABS point, Ms Rowland and I met it last week and had a very useful meeting around the table with representatives of civil society who are close to borrowers specifically to discuss the issues around the pandemic earlier in the summer. We will continue to engage with lenders and those who are closer to borrowers.

We are now dealing with a transition from the system-wide support that was introduced at pace earlier in the year as the pandemic first struck to trying to provide individually tailored support for those borrowers who need it. They include those who are now back in full-time employment but are now suffering or will suffer as a result of increased restrictions. They also include those who are, to use the Deputy's example, working in the airline industry and will have a longer term impact on their situation. It is important that their financial position is understood and that the support is provided to them is done in a way that is tailored to their needs.

We have engaged heavily with lenders since the start of the pandemic, not only in terms of how the payment breaks operate but also in preparing for what is happening now and to make sure that during this transition borrowers are supported in a way that is in their best interests. We want to ensure we do not have an extended period of non-payment while interest continues to accrue.

What we have seen to date is, broadly speaking, that lenders have used that time to prepare. Clearly, there may be situations where things are not operating as we would like. We are heavily engaged with lenders in real time to make sure they are delivering as we expect and as the Deputy outlined. We are always interested in hearing of specific cases where there are problems and we will follow those up in terms of making sure the system is working.

On the Central Credit Register, there is a fair amount of misunderstanding as to what it is. It simply records what is happening factually in regard to a loan. It is not a rating or score. It simply records outstanding loans and what is happening in terms of repayments or whether a loan is being restructured.