Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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257. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of a bank's customers (details supplied) regarding the planned sale of their offset mortgages due to the bank’s departure from the Irish market; to offer assurances that his Department will engage with the bank to ensure fairness is applied to all those impacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55241/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 255, 257 and 258 together.

I understand that on the 27 November 2023 Ulster Bank of Ireland (UBI) announced they were writing to customers with offset mortgage products to advise them of changes necessitated by UBI’s withdrawal from the Irish market. UBI has announced that customers are being given six months’ notice to close the savings and current accounts that have been linked to their offset mortgage by 23 May 2024. UBI has also informed offset customers that their mortgages will remain with UBI for now but are likely to be included in a future loan sale.

The provision of banking services and/or the transfer or sale of a creditor's benefits and rights under a credit agreement is a commercial decision for an individual firm. While decisions related to the strategic direction and business model of regulated firms are for the boards of those firms, they are obliged to consider all of the relevant risks and to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements at all times.

It is regrettable that UBI is exiting the Irish market, but this is a commercial decision of that bank and, as Minister for Finance, I have no function or role in the commercial decision-making matters by regulated entities.

However, I would like to inform the Deputy that there is a strong consumer protection framework in place for mortgage borrowers and this framework will continue to remain in place following any decision by an existing regulated entity to sell or assign the benefits and rights it has under a credit agreement to another entity.

Therefore, the framework provides the same protections for borrowers regardless of the type of regulated entity with whom they are dealing, such as a bank, a retail credit firm or a credit servicing firm.

For example, under Provision 3.11 of the Consumer Protection Code 2012, a regulated firm that intends to cease operating, merge with another, or to transfer all or part of its regulated activities to another regulated firm, must:

• provide affected consumers with at least two months’ notice to enable them to make alternative arrangements if they so wish;
• ensure all outstanding business is properly completed prior to any transfer, merger or cessation of operations; or, in the case of a transfer or merger, inform customers as to how continuity of service will be provided following a transfer or merger; and
• in the case of a merger or transfer of regulated activities, inform customers that their details are being transferred to the other regulated entity, if that is the case.