IBRC mortgage holders must be protected in €12 billion asset sale – FF
Published on: 31 December 2013
Today is the deadline for sale of IBRC assets
Fianna Fáil Finance Spokesperson Michael McGrath has repeated his call that the 11,000 former Irish Nationwide customers who have their family home mortgage with IBRC (in Special Liquidation) must have their interests protected when the mortgage book is sold or transferred.
The Special Liquidator is under instruction to ensure that the sale of IBRC assets with a book value of €12 billion is agreed or completed by no later than today, 31 December 2013, or as soon as practicable thereafter.
Deputy McGrath said: “Today is a very significant milestone in the liquidation of IBRC. We are advised that the Special Liquidator completed the valuation of all IBRC assets by the end of November and the focus now is on selling the various asset portfolios. It is absolutely critical that the Special Liquidator extracts the maximum value for the taxpayer from the carcass of IBRC. It is important the Special Liquidator provides an update as quickly as possible on the progress being made in selling the asset portfolios.
“However, it is essential that IBRC mortgage holders are protected as part of this sale process. The key concern for IBRC family home mortgage holders is that they may lose key protections if the mortgage book is sold to an entity not regulated in Ireland.
“In quite a worrying development, Minister Noonan confirmed to me in a parliamentary reply that ‘The continued applicability of the Central Bank Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) and the Mortgage Arrears Targets Programme will depend on the regulatory status of the ultimate acquirer of the portfolio.’
“Under no circumstances should the IBRC mortgage holders have the protections afforded by the CCMA and the Targets Programme removed from them as part of the sale of the mortgage book. I believe the retention of these protections should be a condition of the sale of the mortgage book.
“In the event that the mortgage book is not sold, it will be transferred to NAMA. This also leads to significant problems as NAMA is not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and, again, IBRC customers could lose key protections. If the mortgage book is transferred to NAMA, the Minister for Finance will need to put a mechanism in place to ensure that the mortgage holders no not lose vital protections.”
