Agreement on the coordinated application of payment hardship measures

In light of the news coverage of the government's agreement on the coordinated application of hardship measures, the Competition Authority wishes to make the following statement:

On 30 January, the Competition Authority granted the Association of Financial Institutions an exemption from competition law to establish a common procedure for dealing with those in serious payment difficulties. The aim was for the outcome of that work to then be submitted to the competition authorities. On 6 April, the Association of Financial Institutions then requested an exemption from the competition law prohibition on cooperation between competitors, due to an agreement between financial institutions, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, on the coordinated application of insolvency measures. On 8 April, an exemption request was received concerning an agreement on the application of offset for interest-rate-indexed residential mortgages for individuals. The processing of these cases has been expedited as much as possible, and final evidence from the parties was received on 15 April. The Competition Authority will conclude the cases this week.