Consumer and SME Credit Law

Consumer and SME Credit Law

This important new textbook provides an extensive and in-depth guide to the current labyrinthine regulatory regime relating to consumer and SME credit and protection generally, including the Consumer Protection Code, the Consumer Credit Act (housing loans and non-housing loans), the EU Consumer Credit Regulations, the EU Mortgage Credit Regulations and the Central Bank Housing Loan Regulations.

Other lending-related conduct of business requirements are also covered in detail, including the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, the Lending to SME Regulations, the Consumer Protection Act, the EU Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services Regulations, the Code on Related Parties Lending, the Credit Reporting Act, the increasingly topical area of the Unfair Contract Terms Regulations and applicable EBA Guidelines.

This textbook also addresses the regulated activities triggering authorisation as a retail credit firm or credit servicing firm, the fitness and probity regime including minimum competency requirements and other background to the regulatory regime including the increased regulatory focus on the culture of regulated firms and product oversight and governance.

The redress/recourse mechanisms available to consumers and SME borrowers are also covered, including the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, the Credit Review Office, the regulatory and other consequences of breach of applicable requirements and the thorny issue of the implications in civil litigation of lenders' non-compliance with regulatory codes.

Relevant case law of the Irish courts and other common law jurisdictions, together with an expanding corpus of decisions from the CJEU, are addressed in detail.

This book's practical style is designed to assist bankers, other firms engaging in lending to consumers and SMEs, lawyers, compliance professionals and regulators in the application of the ever-increasing and complex law of consumer and SME credit. Rather than simply setting out the separate requirements, the book seeks to navigate the at times contradictory legislative and regulatory strands to give (in so far as is possible) a coherent sense of how they integrate.

Much of the content is unique and cannot be found in any other publication.

An essential addition to the library of every lender, practitioner and compliance and regulatory risk professional in the areas of consumer and SME credit.