On January 21 2019, the Irish Consumer Protection (Regulation of
Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2018 (Act) came into force. This Act
radically alters the operation of the secondary acquisition,
ownership and servicing of performing and non-performing Irish
consumer loans, and certain small and medium enterprise (SME) loans
(together, Relevant Loans).
The Act amends the existing Irish credit servicing regime
introduced in 2015, by extending the scope of regulated activities.
These originally comprised (in summary) loan administration and
customer communication. The Act extends the scope to include:
- The holding of legal title to
Relevant Loans (Legal Title Holding); and,
- Managing or administering the
Relevant Loans, including by (i) determining the overall strategy
for the management and administration of a portfolio of Relevant
Loans or, (ii) maintaining key control over major decisions
relating to such portfolios (Loan Portfolio Management, and,
together with
