Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Finance if he, the Central Bank or the Financial Regulator have given instructions to the management at Anglo Irish Bank with respect to the treatment of distressed loans; if the treatment of distressed loans and debtors has changed since the issuance of the bank guarantee on 30 September 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15897/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Anglo Irish Bank is being run on an arms length commercial basis. Consequently, normal commercial decisions, which include those relating to treatment of distressed loans and debtors and overall credit management and control, are a matter for the Board of Anglo. As with other credit institutions, the Financial Regulator supervises Anglo's credit management processes in line with regulatory requirements.

The terms of the guarantee Scheme did not provide for specific changes to the treatment of distressed loans and debtors of covered institutions, but, as the Deputy will be aware, a range of reporting and commercial conduct requirements were introduced as part the guarantee Scheme, to ensure compliance with the objectives of the Scheme, and as with all covered institutions, Anglo is subject to these.

I would note that the terms applying to debtors of Anglo Irish Bank were unaffected by the introduction of the guarantee Scheme, or the subsequent taking into public ownership of Anglo. As I have stated previously, as with any commercial bank, Anglo will pursue all loan agreements to their full extent, to maximise the return from the bank's loan book.

I would also note that as part of the Government's Bank Customers Package, codes of practice on business lending and mortgage arrears have been put in place on a statutory basis and published by the Financial Regulator to ensure that all banks operating here deal in an honest way with customers and consumers and that they are treated in a reputable and respectable fashion.