FINANCIAL SERVICES OMBUDSMAN
A commencement order is awaited for the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2025 which was signed into law on 15 April 2025.
Among other matters, the Act addresses an issue that arose in early 2024 in respect of the Ombudsman's remit.
The Ombudsman's view was that his remit didn't extend to complaints regarding how a borrower's Standard Financial Statement under the Central Bank of Ireland's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears is dealt with / assessed by a credit servicing firm where the mortgage loan was sold between 2015 and 2019. The Ombudsman viewed that as being a 'key decision' and therefore one that rested (between 2015 and 2019) with the legal title holder (who didn't require to be regulated by the Central Bank during that period) and not with the credit servicer (against whom the borrower lodged the complaint).
The Act (once commenced) will extend the Ombudsman's jurisdiction to review complaints made at any point after a loan sale.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
