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FINANCIAL REGULATORS CONSULTED gardaí on the tracker mortgage issue, but no reports have yet been made.
The tracker mortgage issue centres around thousands of people who paid higher mortgage rates than they should have.
The remarks were made by Central Bank officials to the Finance Committee today.
The Central Bank’s head of enforcement Derville Rowland said that she met with gardaí to discuss the tracker mortgage issue ‘in general’ terms.
Rowland says they considered “taking action against senior members” and bringing sanctions forward, which is within the remit of the Central Bank.
“In this context no reports have been made to date.” She said she met with gardaí and discussed the issue in general terms, and the Central Bank continues to regularly engage with the gardaí on the matter.
There are open investigations at the moment involving Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank. There’s also one concluded case with Permanent TSB’s Springboard – where the lender was fined €4.5 million as well as repayment fees.
In that particular case, Rowland said, “we demanded that the consumer interest was put as a first priority”.
The Central Bank said today it is reviewing the exact value of what thousands of customers lost out on over the years when they should have been on a better rate.
The assessment is expected to be concluded by the end of September this year, they said, but there’s no exact figure on rebates for customers, or if there will be fines involved.
Real effect
Earlier today, TheJournal.ie reported that a widowed father-of-five from Co Kerry who was overcharged by Bank of Ireland on his mortgage payments is now in a battle to stop the bank from taking his family home.
The bank secured a possession order on 40-year-old Raymond Flavin’s house in Lisselton last year, only to later admit he had been caught up in the tracker mortgage scandal.
In the Finance Committee today, Central Bank governor Philip Lane said that there was a “systematic and widespread aspect” to the tracker mortgage scandal.
“It manifested itself in different ways, in different institutions over different periods of time, to different customers.
It does require comprehensive approach; there was a cultural issue that was in favour of the lender and not in favour of the customers.
He also said that lenders should “never have been as aggressive as they were in terms of how they viewed these contracts”.
If you have been affected by the tracker mortgage scandal, we want to hear your story. Get in touch by sending a message to trackermortgage@thejournal.ie.
With reporting from Michelle Hennessy.
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Each and every individual affected by this scandal should make a formal written complaint to An Garda Siochana.
Mortgagors were not accidentally removed from tracker mortgages. It was intentionally done. It was deceitful and loss was sustained.
There needs to be a fill and thorough investigation, properly resourced and competently handled by experienced criminal investigators, using expert external assistance where appropriate.
Between this and the Garda drink tests, We have a country with no direction other than fleece people without recourse or repercussion,No effective government just individuals intent on filling their pocket at our expense while announcing inquiries they know will have no results or effect. This must end, I for one am totally exasperated with this rudderless country.
@David Huston: change for the better will happen because of people such as you refusing to tolerate what is happening.
@David Huston: It is far from rudderless, in fact governance is very effective. The fact is you, and the majority of citizens, just dont matter. You have but a simple couple of functions, as a cash cow for the rich, and a tax vehicle to pay for corporate welfare.
Those that matter to government pay no tax, or so little on so much, it doesn’t matter. Want to engage in a bit of white collar crime? Go right ahead. We’ll have an inquiry on our terms, if you’re caught out.
With a corrupt police force, a corrupt establishment thrives. If you’re a banker, a vulture fund, a corporation, one of the elite, well connected, the ship of state is well on course.
FFS
A bit like asking Darth Vadar to investigate the wrongs of the Emperor throughout the galaxy in Star Wars ( The Empire Strikes Back)
This country gets worse and worse with every passing scandal
There are time`s I wish I was in a galaxy far far away
@Tony O Dwyer: Time to bring in The Force!
@Ciaran105: unfortunately the Force is weak with this one
@Ciaran105: that’s n
Good news people, our trusty police force is on the case.
Jesus the Government, banks and the Garda. Scandals/ corruption. The boom is definitely back. What hope do we have.
Middle ranking bankers to come under the microscope after all these years . Obviously there are no Whistleblowers in D4 ? Considering the volume of meetings that must have occurred surrounding the Bailout and the banks attempted journey to return into the Black. Somebody knew !
Yes because we can trust the guards and their reports
There will be no action unless or until all victims officially file reports on what has happened. A criminal investigation defers all civil litigation processes.
@Tony Daly: I would imagine that isn’t far off considering most are now getting legal advice.
@jane: hopefully so but private lawyers look to civil remedies instead of criminal investigation and sanctions.
I was at a Conference last year. I asked a Judge how he would few.if he had wanted Possession Orders in cases where there was systemic overcharging. He was visibly shocked.
Don’t think there’s much point involving the gardai in anything that involves maths
Hold on feel a tribunal in the wind :)
@Keith Murray: the Tribunal my friend is blowin’ in the wind.
Ha and what exactly are an Garda siochana gonna do. I laugh but it’s no joke
We have banks screwing us, guards screwing us and politicians screwing us…….. we are a timid bunch.
@Joe Travers:
Paddy loves being screwed – it’s a national pastime.
Get screwed, moan and groan, do nothing, repeat.
Great we can all rest easy now!.
Our Justice League are on the scene, the bankers responsible we quake in their expensive shoes!
Spot of golf old bean, mean while the ordinary joe keeps paying the House Charges, Bin Charges…..oh what about Irish Water….what a Sh*t hole of a country, nothing to see here.
Now the real news, did you see Kim Karcrashs new face ! :P
If the Gardai arrest one of the bankers, and bring charges against it, or the Central Bank show any effective determination to regulate the entire system might collapse, what next the Church, RTE, FF-FG, Denis O’Brien paying tax….wont happen
Get the leg irons out.
Ahh the banksters… those venerable sages… those altruistic, inimitable bastions of morality and true pillars of welfare… always the friend of their fellow man… ! borrow my children..! borrow to heart’s content…!
Relax folks, the Gardai are only being consulted about tracker mortgage …It’s not going anywhere if previous banking scandals are anything to go by.
Redress Schemes are all loaded in different ways against the affected borrowers. Post-Appeal, as recommended by the Central Bank Director of Enforcement, Dearbhla Rowland, such borrowers should consider recourse to the Courts for a more all-embracing approach to provable ConsequentIal losses.
See also http://thebottomline.ie/tracker-mortgage-compensation-2017/
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