Brendan Burgess
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From BoI's appearance at the Oireachtas Finance Committee
Senator Thomas Byrne: ...
The Government introduced a number of schemes, including the mortgage-to-rent scheme, to assist people in difficulty. What are Mr. Boucher's views on the mortgage-to-rent scheme? Given that a number of stakeholders are involved in the scheme, it is important to hear the views of Bank of Ireland on it.
Mr. Richie Boucher: My colleague, Mr. McLoughlin, will respond to the Senator's question.
Mr. Liam McLoughlin: I will first provide figures and then address the scheme. Bank of Ireland has proposed 226 cases as part of the mortgage-to-rent scheme. Of these, 90 are proceeding and 136 did not meet the criteria. We had a very good discussion about some of the issues arising from the scheme at our meeting in April. Since then, Bank of Ireland has been involved in active discussions with the various parties, including the approved housing boards and the Department. I believe we are close to producing a very good protocol in this area. A meeting will take place in the final week of November to bring the matter to a conclusion. We are moving to a much better position in regard to the scheme.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
Flawed as they are, the criteria applying to the scheme are reasonably clear. How was Bank of Ireland able to propose a large number of cases that subsequently did not meet the criteria? Were there different interpretations of-----
Mr. Liam McLoughlin: The issues that arose were predominately related to funding capacity and the location of premises. Some premises were outside of large estate agents that would be of more attraction to the housing boards or Department.
Mr. Richie Boucher: The criteria are maybe more at the specific property side, which is a more difficult thing to ascertain upfront with the customer.
Senator Thomas Byrne: The scheme provides for very clear valuation limits. I presume no mistakes were made in that regard or was valuation an issue?
Mr. Liam McLoughlin: Valuation is probably the one remaining matter to be resolved between now and the end of November. We believe there is an approach that will get us there.
Senator Thomas Byrne: We have been messing around with this scheme for two years. I am not blaming the banks but the Government because it has done nothing. It is only now, after two years, that we may reach a resolution. This scheme could work well if the Government were serious about it.
Mr. Richie Boucher: The not-for-profit housing associations also need to develop. As I said, what we see in the United Kingdom is a sector that we would encourage.
Senator Thomas Byrne: Is Mr. Boucher proposing to pass Bank of Ireland's bad mortgages on to not-for-profit housing organisations and then charge them interest?
Mr. Richie Boucher: We have made the provision. Regardless of whether the not-for-profit sector deals with us, we are prepared to provide finance to them.
Senator Thomas Byrne: Mr. Boucher told us earlier that Bank of Ireland will deal with them on a commercial basis.
Mr. Richie Boucher: We are in business.
Senator Thomas Byrne: The number of mortgage-to-rent solutions Bank of Ireland proposed appears to be very low. Is it not the case that the banks operate as the gatekeepers to the scheme in that it is for them to decide whether to make a mortgage-to-rent proposal?
Mr. Richie Boucher: To return to the Senator's earlier point or assertion, we have every interest in seeing a scheme such as this work. We do not have any commercial reason not to want it to work.
Senator Thomas Byrne: What is the reason for the low number of solutions proposed?
Mr. Richie Boucher: Many of these things take time to develop.
Senator Thomas Byrne: Two years in the middle of a crisis is-----
Mr. Richie Boucher: One needs to have a funder at the other side.
Senator Thomas Byrne: Has Bank of Ireland contacted either the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government or Department of Finance to express its frustrations about the operation of the scheme given Mr. Boucher's assertion that he wants to work?
Mr. Richie Boucher: We participate actively in working parties to try to identify how we can assist.
Senator Thomas Byrne: I hope the scheme works because it has been a disaster for the past two years. The Government promised that the scheme would be a solution to many vulnerable people who have been let down. Let us wait and see if good news emerges at the end of the month. Perhaps the joint committee should follow up on that issue.
Senator Thomas Byrne: ...
The Government introduced a number of schemes, including the mortgage-to-rent scheme, to assist people in difficulty. What are Mr. Boucher's views on the mortgage-to-rent scheme? Given that a number of stakeholders are involved in the scheme, it is important to hear the views of Bank of Ireland on it.
Mr. Richie Boucher: My colleague, Mr. McLoughlin, will respond to the Senator's question.
Mr. Liam McLoughlin: I will first provide figures and then address the scheme. Bank of Ireland has proposed 226 cases as part of the mortgage-to-rent scheme. Of these, 90 are proceeding and 136 did not meet the criteria. We had a very good discussion about some of the issues arising from the scheme at our meeting in April. Since then, Bank of Ireland has been involved in active discussions with the various parties, including the approved housing boards and the Department. I believe we are close to producing a very good protocol in this area. A meeting will take place in the final week of November to bring the matter to a conclusion. We are moving to a much better position in regard to the scheme.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
Flawed as they are, the criteria applying to the scheme are reasonably clear. How was Bank of Ireland able to propose a large number of cases that subsequently did not meet the criteria? Were there different interpretations of-----Mr. Liam McLoughlin: The issues that arose were predominately related to funding capacity and the location of premises. Some premises were outside of large estate agents that would be of more attraction to the housing boards or Department.
Mr. Richie Boucher: The criteria are maybe more at the specific property side, which is a more difficult thing to ascertain upfront with the customer.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
The scheme provides for very clear valuation limits. I presume no mistakes were made in that regard or was valuation an issue?Mr. Liam McLoughlin: Valuation is probably the one remaining matter to be resolved between now and the end of November. We believe there is an approach that will get us there.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
We have been messing around with this scheme for two years. I am not blaming the banks but the Government because it has done nothing. It is only now, after two years, that we may reach a resolution. This scheme could work well if the Government were serious about it.Mr. Richie Boucher: The not-for-profit housing associations also need to develop. As I said, what we see in the United Kingdom is a sector that we would encourage.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
Is Mr. Boucher proposing to pass Bank of Ireland's bad mortgages on to not-for-profit housing organisations and then charge them interest?Mr. Richie Boucher: We have made the provision. Regardless of whether the not-for-profit sector deals with us, we are prepared to provide finance to them.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
Mr. Boucher told us earlier that Bank of Ireland will deal with them on a commercial basis.Mr. Richie Boucher: We are in business.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
The number of mortgage-to-rent solutions Bank of Ireland proposed appears to be very low. Is it not the case that the banks operate as the gatekeepers to the scheme in that it is for them to decide whether to make a mortgage-to-rent proposal?Mr. Richie Boucher: To return to the Senator's earlier point or assertion, we have every interest in seeing a scheme such as this work. We do not have any commercial reason not to want it to work.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
What is the reason for the low number of solutions proposed?Mr. Richie Boucher: Many of these things take time to develop.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
Two years in the middle of a crisis is-----Mr. Richie Boucher: One needs to have a funder at the other side.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
Has Bank of Ireland contacted either the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government or Department of Finance to express its frustrations about the operation of the scheme given Mr. Boucher's assertion that he wants to work?Mr. Richie Boucher: We participate actively in working parties to try to identify how we can assist.
Senator Thomas Byrne:
I hope the scheme works because it has been a disaster for the past two years. The Government promised that the scheme would be a solution to many vulnerable people who have been let down. Let us wait and see if good news emerges at the end of the month. Perhaps the joint committee should follow up on that issue.