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Quarterly Bulletin Q3 2013

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72<br />

EU-IMF Financial Assistance Programme<br />

<strong>Quarterly</strong> <strong>Bulletin</strong> 03 / July 13<br />

– Tenth Review<br />

four week consultation process, also started in<br />

the first quarter of <strong>2013</strong>.<br />

Similarly, work to get the Insolvency Service of<br />

Ireland (ISI) up and running - so that it will soon<br />

be in a position to accept applications for the<br />

three new debt relief arrangements -<br />

continued. The ISI’s website has been<br />

launched, and information guides on each<br />

arrangement along with ‘Guidelines on<br />

Reasonable Standards of Living’, have also<br />

been published. The regulations for the<br />

authorisation of insolvency practitioners and<br />

other approved intermediaries have been<br />

published, while six specialist judges have<br />

been nominated for appointment to deal<br />

specifically with personal insolvency cases.<br />

On the SME front, the Bank developed a set of<br />

KPIs and metrics, which PCAR banks are<br />

required to submit on a quarterly basis, for<br />

monitoring distressed SME loans. It is<br />

reviewing progress with these and the intention<br />

is to enhance them over time.<br />

The Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill<br />

<strong>2013</strong> was published in March. When enacted,<br />

this will address the lacuna identified by the<br />

Justice Dunne High Court judgement 6 . The<br />

effectiveness of statutory repossession<br />

arrangements is also being kept under review.<br />

In March, the Bank published a report<br />

comparing the Prudential Capital Assessment<br />

Review (PCAR) 2011 with actual performance<br />

up to June 2012.<br />

The Central Bank requested an assessment by<br />

the IMF of its observance against Basel Core<br />

Principles for Effective Banking Supervision<br />

(structural benchmark for end-March).<br />

The normal monitoring and reporting on banks’<br />

deleveraging, based on existing nominal<br />

targets and the run-off of non-core assets,<br />

continued during the first quarter. In addition,<br />

the Eligible Liabilities Guarantee (ELG) Scheme<br />

was removed for new liabilities with effect from<br />

midnight on 28 March <strong>2013</strong>.<br />

Turning to credit unions, the Restructuring<br />

Board (ReBo), which is leading the<br />

restructuring process, was placed on a<br />

statutory basis in January <strong>2013</strong>. A new fitness<br />

and probity regime has been agreed and will<br />

be introduced on a phased basis. For credit<br />

unions with total assets greater than €10<br />

million, it will come into effect on 1 August<br />

<strong>2013</strong> (1 August 2015 for all others).<br />

Following discussions between the banks and<br />

credit unions, the Bank announced a pilot<br />

scheme looking at the restructuring of<br />

distressed consumer debt across multiple<br />

lenders. The aim of the scheme is to enhance<br />

cooperation between lenders of secured and<br />

unsecured debt, so as to resolve the situation<br />

at an early stage, without the borrower having<br />

to enter the full insolvency process.<br />

Future Financial Sector Commitments<br />

The financial sector reforms undertaken in the<br />

second quarter of <strong>2013</strong> and the actions to be<br />

progressed over the coming months, including<br />

two proposed structural benchmarks, are<br />

summarised below.<br />

To enhance the MART framework, the Bank<br />

issued guidance to credit institutions on the<br />

definition of sustainable restructuring<br />

arrangements at end-June. Targets for the<br />

completion of a substantial share of such<br />

arrangements during <strong>2013</strong> will be established<br />

in the third quarter, along with targets to ensure<br />

that the terms of concluded solutions are being<br />

met. Banks’ progress in respect of these will<br />

be monitored closely.<br />

As a means of taking stock of progress in<br />

tackling mortgage arrears, a comprehensive<br />

review was prepared for the External Partners<br />

at the end of June (existing structural<br />

benchmark).<br />

6 The jurisprudence related to this High Court judgement (of 25 July 2011) highlighted a loophole in the current legislation which has<br />

had the effect of limiting banks’ ability to repossess property collateral. Justice Dunne ruled that a lending institution cannot apply for<br />

an order for possession where a mortgage was created before December 2009 but a demand for full payment was not made by the<br />

lender until after that date.

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