Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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379. To ask the Minister for Finance if a lending agency can refuse a person a loan based on their age. [31817/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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There are certain regulatory requirements governing the provision of credit to consumers.

For example, the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code 2012 imposes ‘Knowing the Consumer and Suitability’ requirements on lenders. Under these requirements, lenders are required to assess affordability of credit and the suitability of a product or service based on the individual circumstances of each borrower, including the age of the borrower.

A regulated entity must also gather and record sufficient information from the consumer prior to offering, recommending, arranging or providing a product or service appropriate to that consumer. The level of information gathered should be appropriate to the nature and complexity of the product or service being sought by the consumer, but must be to a level that allows the regulated entity to provide a professional service and must include details of the consumer’s needs and objectives, personal circumstances (including age where relevant) and their financial situation.

Prior to offering, recommending, arranging or providing a credit product to a personal consumer, a lender must carry out an assessment of affordability to ascertain the consumer’s likely ability to repay the debt, over the duration of the agreement. A regulated entity must take account of the result of the affordability assessment when deciding whether a personal consumer is likely to be able to repay the debt for that amount and duration in the manner required under the credit agreement.

When assessing the suitability of a product or service for a consumer, the regulated entity must, at a minimum, consider and document whether, on the basis of the information gathered:

- the product or service meets that consumer’s needs and objectives;

- the consumer is likely to be able to meet the financial commitment associated with the product on an ongoing basis and is financially able to bear any risks attaching to the product or service;

- the consumer has the ability to repay the debt in the manner required under the credit agreement, on the basis of the outcome of the assessment of affordability; and

- the product or service is consistent with the consumer’s attitude to risk.

In addition, the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016 (CMCAR) provide that before concluding a mortgage credit agreement, a lender must make a thorough assessment of the consumer’s creditworthiness. The assessment must take appropriate account of factors relevant to verifying the prospect of the consumer being able to meet his or her obligations under the credit agreement. The CMCAR provide that a lender should only make credit available to a consumer where the result of the creditworthiness assessment indicates that the consumer’s obligations resulting from the credit agreement are likely to be met in the manner required under that agreement. The assessment of creditworthiness must be carried out on the basis of information on the consumer’s income and expenses and other financial and economic circumstances which is necessary, sufficient and proportionate.

Within the parameters of this consumer protection regulatory framework, it is then a commercial matter for each lender to determine its own lending policies and to make its own decisions on individual applications for credit. However, if a loan applicant is not satisfied with how a regulated entity is dealing with them, or they believe that the regulated entity is not following the requirements of the Central Bank’s codes and regulations or other financial services law, they should make a complaint directly to the regulated entity. If they are still not satisfied with the response from the regulated entity, the response to their complaint from the regulated entity is required to include details for the borrower on how to refer their complaint to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman.