news 25 June 2018

McCann FitzGerald Continues to Revolutionise Legal Services Landscape with new Credit Reporting Compliance App

Any person who provides credit, such as loans, deferred payments or any other form of financial accommodation, is required to submit information to the Central Credit Register which is maintained by the Central Bank of Ireland. As of the 30th September 2018, details of credit provided to non-consumer borrowers must also be submitted.

The new app, which is competitively priced, enables both regulated and non-regulated credit providers to:

• assess whether their business comes within the scope of the Credit Reporting Act;
• identify where there are gaps in their compliance; and
• determine whether a particular transaction is within the scope of the Act, or not.

Along with the previously-released GDPR Gap Analysis app, the new Credit Reporting Compliance tool is part of McCann FitzGerald’s overall approach to the development of marketing-leading, innovative solutions for the delivery of legal services, with client applications being just one aspect.

Josh Hogan, Partner and Head of the Financial Services Regulatory Group at McCann FitzGerald comments;

“Businesses who provide credit are facing a major compliance challenge on the horizon. Now that the scope of the Credit Reporting Act is about to be expanded to non-consumer borrowers, there is an urgent need to educate a wider business audience on the applicability of the Act so that businesses don’t breach their reporting obligations.

For regulated entities, a breach of the Act could lead to serious consequences, including administrative sanctions by the Central Bank, and so ensuring compliance needs to be a top priority for those in-scope lenders. However, it’s important to realise that the scope of the Act is not limited to regulated lenders. Any company or individual who provides credit potentially falls within its scope, even where lending is not the person’s core business. Directors, employee and shareholder loans are examples of where the Act can potentially apply, even though those credit arrangements are peripheral to a company’s main business.”

“The new Credit Reporting Compliance App greatly simplifies the process for providers of credit in terms of their understanding of how they should approach the Act, as well as being a usable tool for regular compliance audits and ongoing transaction-by-transaction checks. It is another example of the work that McCann FitzGerald is doing in order to deliver technology-based, innovative and cost-effective solutions for our clients.”

Barry Devereux, Managing Partner of McCann FitzGerald added;

“Today’s clients are redefining how they want their legal services to be delivered. While legal expertise is still paramount, clients now rightly demand more efficiency, flexibility and innovation. ‘Progressive Delivery’ is our response to those changing requirements. It’s about bringing together our deep legal, business and regulatory knowledge with digital and AI technologies so that we can deliver a suite of agile and clever solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of our clients.”

For further information on our Credit Reporting Compliance App please contact digitalservices@mccannfitzgerald.com, telephone +353 1 511 1644 or click here.