Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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235. To ask the Minister for Finance if the Central Bank has plans to investigate if customers with business loans were wrongly denied their contractual right to return to a tracker rate following a period on a fixed rate or have not been put on the correct tracker rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10227/17]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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243. To ask the Minister for Finance the exact scope of the Central Bank tracker mortgage examination which is ongoing. [10369/17]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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244. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of affected customers and the number of those who have had the correct tracker rate reinstated for each bank, with regard to the ongoing Central Bank tracker examination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10370/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 235, 243 and 244 together.

The Tracker Mortgage Examination is the most significant supervisory review undertaken in the context of the Central Bank's consumer protection remit. In line with the Bank's mandate to ensure that the best interests of consumers are protected, the Central Bank's immediate focus is to ensure that lenders prioritise the identification of impacted customers and prevent further harm.  

The scope of the Tracker Mortgage Examination covers all lenders which sold tracker mortgage accounts, including both for the family home and investment properties, up to the end of 2015:

- that originated on tracker interest rates;

- that had tracker interest rates applied at any stage during the term of the underlying mortgage agreements and-or

- where the underlying mortgage agreements provided for contractual rights to or options for tracker interest rates at any stage during the term of the agreements.

All tracker mortgage accounts that fall within this scope are covered by the Examination.

The Examination is a key priority for the Central Bank and it is working to ensure that the Examination is completed as soon as possible. While significant progress has been made, the Central Bank advises that due to the scale and complexity of the review, it will take some further time to complete.

In December the Central Bank issued a statement which indicated that so far lenders had identified approximately 8,200 accounts where a right to, or the option of, a tracker rate of interest and/or the correct rate of interest was not provided to customers in accordance with lenders' contractual or regulatory requirements. In his subsequent appearance before the Joint Oireachtas Committee, the Governor indicated that this is a lower band figure and that it is expected the number of affected cases will be higher.

Based on current progress, the Central Bank expects that all relevant lenders will have identified and commenced engagement with most impacted customers by mid-2017. Payment of redress and compensation, processing and consideration of any customer appeals and the Central Bank's own assurance work will continue beyond this point for some lenders.

The Central Bank has set down a robust framework whereby lenders' internal reviews will be overseen by independent third parties.  As part of the Examination, the Central Bank has made very clear what it expects of lenders in terms of redress and compensation to impacted customers.