Minister Donohoe announces Government approval to draft legislation to regulate PCP and other credit type agreements
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure & Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, today (Wednesday) announced Government approval to draft legislation to provide that all firms which offer personal contract plan (PCP), hire purchase and other similar credit type agreements to consumers will be required to be authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as retail credit firms.
The Tutty report on the PCP market (which was commissioned by the Minister for Finance and published last November) outlined a number of recommendations to improve the level of consumer protection in relation to the provision of PCP and hire purchase agreements.
The only recommendation which cannot be implemented within the existing legislative framework is the key one which says that the relevant provisions of the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code, in particular the provisions which require lenders to assess the suitability of the product for the consumer and also the ability of the borrower to repay the debt over the duration of the credit agreement, should be extended to all the providers of hire purchase/PCP agreements to consumers. However, as some of the providers of these agreements currently fall outside the authorisation and full regulatory remit of the Central Bank, the Bank is not able to apply its codes to these unauthorised firms.
The proposed legislation intends to address this gap and to provide that all the providers of credit type agreements to consumers and other relevant persons will now be required to be authorised by the Central Bank.
Welcoming Government approval to draft the Bill, Minister Donohoe said:
“As all the providers of PCP and other similar agreements to consumers will now have to be authorised by the Central Bank, the Bank will then be able to apply its Consumer Protection Code and its other consumer protection powers to such firms. This will improve the level of protection available to the consumers of such agreements”.
ENDS
Notes to Editors