The Irish Banking Federation (IBF) and the Law Society are examining a proposal to set up a "register of loans" to improve the current property conveyancing system which relies on undertakings provided by solicitors.

The new register is being considered in light of the cases of solicitors Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne, who used undertakings to draw down multiple mortgages on the same properties from several lenders.

Financial institutions are suing the two men in an attempt to recover loans of more than €125 million.

A spokesman for the IBF said a register of loans would create "a central register" where lenders could monitor all stages of a property transaction. He said: "It would provide a better risk mitigant against the alleged practices that have emerged."

The register would give financial institutions "key sight of the process", allowing them to see what loans have been provided on particular properties and if their charges had been registered, he said.

The system of solicitors' undertakings was set up in the late 1990s to expedite property transactions and reduce costs.

Under the current system, one solicitor, instead of two or more, undertakes to register a lender's charge against a property after a loan has been provided for the purchase.

The IBF and the Law Society, which proposed the idea of the register, will meet later this week to discuss it further. The IBF has also proposed changes to the terms of the standard solicitor's letter of undertaking, which the Law Society is considering.