ARTICLE
16 September 2019

Central Credit Register: Verification Amendments

M
Matheson

Contributor

Established in 1825 in Dublin, Ireland and with offices in Cork, London, New York, Palo Alto and San Francisco, more than 700 people work across Matheson’s six offices, including 96 partners and tax principals and over 470 legal and tax professionals. Matheson services the legal needs of internationally focused companies and financial institutions doing business in and from Ireland. Our clients include over half of the world’s 50 largest banks, 6 of the world’s 10 largest asset managers, 7 of the top 10 global technology brands and we have advised the majority of the Fortune 100.
A statutory instrument published in the Official Gazette on 30 August 2019 – the Credit Reporting Act 2013 (Section 20) (Verification of Identity of Credit Information Subjects)
Ireland Finance and Banking

A statutory instrument published in the Official Gazette on 30 August 2019 – the Credit Reporting Act 2013 (Section 20) (Verification of Identity of Credit Information Subjects) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 433/2019) - has simplified the identity verification process for lenders subject to the credit reporting regime.

Lenders and other “credit information providers” (“CIPs”) subject to the Credit Reporting Act 2013 are required to verify the identity of borrowers and other credit information subjects (“CISs”). The verification steps that CIPs are required to take are set out in S.I. 488/2016 (the “Section 20 Regulations”). The new S.I. amends the Section 20 regulations.

The amendments seek to avoid duplication of verification processes already undertaken by CIPs in relation to anti-money laundering legislation or similar. Specifically, a CIP is no longer required to meet the verification requirements set out in Parts 1, 2 or 3 of the Section 20 Regulations if either:

  • the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 applies to it and it has verified the identity of the CIS pursuant to the requirements of that Act; or
  • the CIP has complied with “…any other reasonable and reliable process to verify the identity of the credit information subject”. The CIP is required to record the process followed, including an explanation of the circumstances, and is required to keep verification documents for a 5-year period.

CIPs may continue to use the verification requirements set out in the Section 20 Regulations. These requirements are amended so that the CIP may use copies of verification documents rather than originals.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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