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THE TAOISEACH HAS urged banks to pass on last week’s ECB cut in interest rates to customers with variable-rate mortgages.
However he ruled out the idea of introducing legislation which would force the banks to do so.
Three banks have said that they will not be passing on the 0.25 per cent cut in the European Central Bank’s main rate, which was announced last Thursday.
AIB and Ulster Bank have said that they won’t pass on the cut to customers with variable-rate mortgages. National Irish Bank, which is owned by Danish bank Danske, says that ECB interest rate fluctuations do not determine pricing on its products and that it “keeps its variable and fixed interest rates under constant review.”
Customers on tracker mortgages will however benefit from the reduction.
Speaking in the Dáil today, Enda Kenny said that he “welcomed” the decision of some banks to pass on the reduction and “encouraged” the other banks to follow suit.
He also said that the Government would be meeting with bank bosses in the new year.
The cut, which brings the ECB rate to 1 per cent, is due to take effect from tomorrow.
EBS and Permanent TSB have said that they will pass on the reduction to customers. Bank of Ireland has said that it will cut its rate by 0.15 rather than the full 0.25 announced by the ECB.
Eamon Gilmore last week said that the government would act “forcefully” to ensure mortgage customers benefit from the cuts.
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I just can’t get my head around this. The state owns 92.8% of AIB, they shouldn’t be “urging”, they should be insisting.
Correct. And if they don’t, simply sack the Board.
Thing is they also want to sell it in the medium term to get some of our taxpayer’s money back.
Wheres that dog from Florida with a gun…go fetch and shoot the bwankers….
Will Kenny and the government put as much time into this issue as they devoted to putting Kevin in Brussels?
Just to remind people that TDs get 100% interest relief paid by the taxpayer for homes bought in Dublin. Therefore, they dont give a crap about mortgage rates going up or down.
So Kenny’s asking the banks to pass on the cut to “hard pressed” mortgage holders and all the while they are passing a motion to introduce a property tax before the Christmas break, So January is already looking great, “Hard Pressed” means nothing left to give or Backs to the wall or Bled dry already. Enda You are saving a currency while suffocating and killing a Nation with your Lapdog introduction of Troika taxes. I will NOT be paying this and Im looking forward to the civil disobedience and refusal of thousands of others. Sickening, depressing and a sad chapter in this countrys rape and abuse.
Everyone cancel their D/D on the mortgages till they pass on the drop. On such a large scale they couldn even introduce legal proceedings. We need some people power instead of sitting back like the useless whimp government.
Well said. People power is greater than the power they have. Without all of us, they’re screwed!
Mr Kenny should grow some to be quite honest. If he can’t run the country he shouldn’t be there. Looks like the banks are running the country instead.
He’s URGING the banks to pass on the interest rates? And that’s the strongest he can be? Why, it’s right up there with Fr Ted and ‘down with that sort of thing’! And to think he’s paying someone €135,000 per year for that sort of advice. We must be loaded.
Enda: “Ah go on, please!”
De Banks: ” No, Taoiseach, we can’t do that. Wouldn’t be good for the taxpayer, doncha know.”
Enda: “But…I’m URGING you!”
DB: “Sorry. Simply can’t be done. Surely, seeing that you lads own most of us now, you’d rather we didn’t lose quite as much this year as we would have done if Trichet was still holding the purse?”
Enda: “People are hard pressed! I was talking to a woman in Limerick only last Tuesd…”
DB: “We’re hard pressed! Those trackers are costing us a bomb. I know we couldn’t flog them fast enough at the time, but we were like your man on the bus in that ad, we didn’t really know what they were. Anyway. Hard Pressed! Re-Cap-It-Al-Isation! Now, can we talk about this silly pay cap thing. We need the best qualified people, doncha know…”
Ah, RM, how I love ‘The Woman in Limerick’. Straight from a clinic specialising in communications, ‘Give them a particular example to show how you are in touch with the common people’. ‘Clinic’ is a great word. It makes the clients out to be sick. And they pay her large sums of money to tell them that. So they must be sick. Not the clinic’s fault. It’s the idiots who pay them.
I’d dearly love it, if they were forced to cite the identities of these people, when they throw them into the conversation. It would be interesting!
I don’t see anything wrong with someone like Enda speaking in general terms when he has a whole country to look out for.
An alternative to that Ryan and the way that conversation should go might be..
Enda: lads..that rate cut from the ECB….I want that implimented on Monday next at the latest…we understand wach other?
De Wankers: Ehh Enda…that would squeeze us a bit hard and sure we ar……
Enda: Monday gentlemen…I’ll be keeping an eye open for the confirmation statement….
De Wankers: …bu…bu..but Enda…
Enda; Meeting adjourned lads!!!!
Now…what are the chances of the above happening?? That’s right…fock all. The secnd they use the word ‘urge’ they give the banks an opt out. Again Enda….grow a pair of balls for the sake of your party and more importantly your country!
How right you are! Less of Fr Ted and more of Mrs Doyle: ‘you will you will you will you will you will you will you will!’
I believe this to be a verbatim quote.
The banks are already loss making. They are under no obligation to pass this on which will only be passed to a certain portion of mortgage holders. The more cuts they pass on the the more of a loss they operate at meaning more money being used up from the bail out fund. Unfortunately that’s the nature of this type of mortgage. Give as many thumbs down as you like but if people were foolish enough to spend stupid amounts of money I can’t understand why my tax bucks should indirectly bail them out. Should tracker mortgage holders also get an extra .25% cut that they are not entitled to ?
So why is ptsb doing so, on the last two ecb drops??
sorry i was so stupid at 23 buying my house at 420k worth probably 180k at best its all my fault wasn’t lead into it at all sorry stupid comment all my mates in the same position for sure your not.i understand how this works banks only recouping loses they made by not doing it snap out of it!
yes they should thats the whole point of a tracker , it was as much a gamble to take a tracker as it was to fix your mortgage everyone said rates would rocket .
The banks have to charge their customers enough interest to cover the cost. Force them to charge any less and the government (taxpayer) will just be bailing them out again later anyway.
This guy has a cheek (and I voted for this government) he is the guy who backed De Rossa against Childers over Cardiff.
Nessa Cholders deserves support (Xmas card or email) for opposing him. De Rossa (aka Frank Rossi) abused her on the phone – appalling considering her level of integrity and his lack of it. Sadly it is the likes of De Rossa and Cardiff who with the support of the our government who get their way.
It is not that many years ago that De Rossa was being followed 24/7 by the special branch for his activities.
bloody disgraceful thought the regulator was doing his bit on this…
Forget urging. Get the cattle probes out.
The regulator is gone into hiding..Ulster Bank haven’t passed on the last two interest rate cuts..And told Enda and the regulator to basically piss off and stop annoying them…What does that tell you?
Ulster bank are a subsidiary of RBS so the real pressure on them needs to come from across the pond.
We are once again in January going to give the banks over another BILLION of public money – this money MUST be frozen at least till the banks play ball with the public back – you know, the ones that are actually keeping it a float!
As it is, Kenny, FG, Gilmore and Labour once again will show how totally ineffective they are by the end of the day doing nothing except letting the banks once again get away with their behaviour and give two fingers up to the people of Ireland.
…Mind you FG and Labour are distracted at the moment – they are too busy giving Irelands independence away!
I’m a great fan of the public back myself. Unless someone plays ball against it. Then one has to deal with lumbar pain and the likes.
Seriously, Biggins, this is overly dramatic, populist, and poorly drafted (as usual) nonsense. No one here or in Dail Eireann wants to give away our sovereignty. And no one bar those who hold the bonds wants to redeem them in full.
All this financial kow towing and forelock tugging is predicated upon us re-entering the markets within the next couple of years. If we honour our non sovereign debts in full, Moody’s will deem us benign, and Standard and Poors will deem us up to standard, (but not rich). I agree with you in one regard, (I think), that this is a hiding to nothing. But, because of the market volatility generated due to the indecisiveness of the EU as a whole, our re-entry to those markets, at the present time, is unlikely. As we stand, that god forsaken and well beaten can has been kicked down the road, Brussels hopes, until March. The situation will no doubt require further resolution sooner than that, in my own opinion at least.
As a former member of FF yourself, whom you left of your own volition, as you admitted on boards.ie when you proposed to run in the last GE, you should be aware of how quickly the political tide may turn. It is so in this case. I would ask you to cite examples in this proposed agreement, where the present government are ceding any of our sovereign decision making capability, aside from what we gave up heretofore, under the bailout agreement.
@ chuck
Who is in charge here, the banks or the govt??? It just doesn’t add up .. Grow some balls kenny
Kenny is “urging” banks to pass on the interest from ECB?! did tax payers not bail out or recapitalize the banks, to me there should be a straight forward solution… Tell the banks to pass on the new interest rates! No discussion .. End of
Kenny ”urges the banks” ……. Well being the Taoiseach I think maybe he could TELL , ORDER even the banks to pass on the cut . I am so so so disappointed in this man and the government. I believe in loyalty , this gov are not showing any loyalty..
Him and his government try to pull the wool from our eyes like the previous shower did. These banks that we saved and saving without reason they can’t control. They are muppets of the muppets and they are lying randomly with no shame! The time has come for us to step in and short all of them!
These are the guys (Kenny, Gilmore, Quinn etc) that promise so they can steal the votes of the people, the moon the stars and the stelar kitchen sink. Now, in government they down a u turn on all, bank guarantee, students fees, cuts on welfare, salaries, increase in taxes. I said it and I’ll repeat it once more. This is the part, that us people step in and deal with this unspeakable liars. Now. Don’t believe in revenge or forgiveness but only in justice but in our society the judiciary is looking after itself and the petty crooks. Well this is the time to get some justice for ourselves. From the politicians, the bankers, IBEC and all the rest that they don’t allow us to live a decent life away from poverty, misery and constant humiliation.
We are NOT happy with this 100% tax relief for TDs on Dublin Properties – one rule for you guys , soft jobs , great pensions and WE GET IT UP THE ASS !
Mortgage Strike!!!!
He is as useful as a mannequin with a stupid haircut. I don’t see him urging the bank not to take our billions but just hands it over.
Bit by bit, section by technical section, our ability to self-determine our own financial practises, have become less and less.
Granted for a while some might say we deserve to be over-saw how we go about adjusting our finances but the fear is that our current leaders are “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” – and there is some merit to that argument. It appears we are getting in much deeper into legalities, binding conditions and penalties to a growing foreign power-base – one that is far from what I suspect those that died in 1916 visioned as supposed to be running our small country.
Just because a topic might be seen to be “populist” by the way, don’t make it automatically wrong either.
All the above is off topic.
The banks should be playing ball better then they are. This is the second(?) time in recent months that this drop in interest has been passed down to the banks at national level. This is the second time/chance that Kenny/Gilmore will have to show if they have any ability to make demands on the banks they are shovelling more public money into. Its a second chance for FG/Labour to show even if they have the inclination or REAL willingness to take the banks on – so far the signs are not looking good.
Till they start respecting the public – the people that in January will be giving them more billions so their own jobs and business can stay afloat, the banks should be called to order and told/made to show recipiency to the hand that’s feeding it. US!
If for once Gilmore and Kenny are for once capable of bring that about, time will clearly tell – the signs once again are not good!
The above was a reply to Ryan Murphy.
It would be great if the banks were to cut interest rates and it’s a shame that it didn’t go through.
Balls have nothing to do with it. The government cannot legally make them drop the rates. Wouldn’t we be back to square one if a government could change banking policy to suit there own agenda.
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