Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland CEOs before Finance Committee

28 April 2014

Ulster Bank CEO Jim Brown and Bank of Ireland CEO Richie Boucher will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform in separate sessions tomorrow as part of a series of meetings on the Irish banking sector. Much of the meeting will be broadcast live on Oireachtas TV.

Mr Brown will appear before the Committee with senior Ulster Bank management at 2pm, while the session with Mr Boucher and his senior colleagues will commence at 4:15 pm.

The meeting is likely to explore the following areas:

• Progress in managing mortgage arrears and the latest position on the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets as set by the Central Bank;
• Repossessions;
• Mortgage interest rates;
• General lending policy;
• Commercial lending policy to SMEs;
• Strategic direction of the bank in the medium-term framework;
• General banking issues, and
• Banking strategy/Banking Union.

The meeting forms part of a series that the Committee is hosting with senior management of the main banks. Last week, the Committee met with AIB CEO David Duffy while Permanent TSB representatives are scheduled to appear on Wednesday 13 May.

Committee Chairman, Liam Twomey TD says: “Tomorrow’s meeting with Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland CEOs will be an opportunity for our Committee to explore current issues in Ireland’s banking sector. Following up from our engagement with AIB last week, discussions are likely to centre on mortgage rates. Members will wish to explore with both CEOs the prospects for Irish variable rate mortgage holders in the coming months, who pay interest rates that are among the highest in the Eurozone. The Committee will also wish to consider the latest approaches of both banks in relation to mortgage arrears and house repossessions. Other strategic priorities for both banks, the impact of EU banking legislation, and trends in commercial lending to the SME sector will also be on the agenda.”

Proceedings will be broadcast live on Oireachtas TV, accessible on UPC 207, Sky 574 and eVision 504 platforms from 3pm to 6pm.

The meeting commences tomorrow Wednesday 29 April in Committee Room 4, LH 2000 at 2 pm.

Public proceedings can also be viewed online here.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.

Media enquiries to:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
paul.hand@oireachtas.ie

Committee Membership
Deputies
Tom Barry, Fine Gael
Richard Boyd-Barrett, People Before Profit
Ciaran Cannon, Fine Gael
Michael Creed, Fine Gael
Pearse Doherty, Sinn Fein
Regina Doherty, Fine Gael
Stephen Donnelly, Independent
Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil
Alan Farrell, Fine Gael
Sean Fleming, Fianna Fáil
Paul Murphy, Socialist Party
Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein
Ciarán Lynch, Labour Party
Michael McGrath, Fianna Fáil
Kieran O’Donnell, Fine Gael
Ciara Conway, Labour
Pat Rabbitte, Labour
Arthur Spring, Labour Party
Peadar Tóibín, Sinn Féin
Liam Twomey, Fine Gael
Brian Walsh, Fine Gael

Senators
Sean D Barrett
Paul Coghlan
Michael D’Arcy
Aideen Hayden
Marc MacSharry
Tom Sheahan