Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are a number of regulatory measures which apply to the provision of new residential mortgage credit, including bridging finance for such a purpose, to consumers. These include the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016 and the Central Bank Consumer Protection Code (2012).

These measures place a number of obligations on lenders in relation to the provision of residential mortgage credit including the requirement to:-

• where relevant, obtain relevant information from the borrower on his/her needs and objectives, personal circumstances and financial situation;
• assess the affordability of credit and the suitability of a product or service based on the individual circumstances of the borrower;
• provide credit only where the creditworthiness assessment indicates that the borrower is likely to meet his/her obligations in the manner required under the credit agreement.

Within the parameters of this regulatory framework, the decision to provide a particular loan product and to grant an individual application for mortgage credit is a commercial decision to be made by the individual regulated entity.

I have been informed that the Central Bank of Ireland understands that some providers offer bridging finance, but not all providers offer this service. Within the applicable regulatory framework, it is a matter for each lender to set its own credit policies and to make its own lending decisions on applications for mortgage or other kinds of credit.