The Financial Regulator today announced it had issued a statutory Mortgage Arrears Code and Business Lending Code.
The Regulator said it had published its code on mortgage arrears and lending to small and medium enterprises in line with the Government's announcement on recapitalisation arrangements.
The body said it had worked closely with the Department of Finance and other relevant stakeholders in developing the codes.
The Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears will come into effect on February 27th, 2009, while the Code of Conduct for Business Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises will come into effect on March 13th, 2009.
The director of the Small Firms' Association, Patricia Callan, tonight endorsed the new statutory Code of Conduct for Business Lending to SMEs.
“We have worked hard with the Financial Regulator, the Departments of Finance and Enterprise, Trade & Employment, and all of the licenced banks to ensure that this code will deliver for the small business community in practical terms," she said.
"We particularly welcome the fact that all the licenced banks have agreed to be legally bound by the code and that it is not restricted to the recapitalised banks, as originally announced”.
The codes can be found on the Financial Regulator's website.