Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
283. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance his views on whether the Central Bank tracker investigation is an important tool in rebuilding trust in banking institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53008/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraPublic trust in the banking industry has been badly damaged in recent years, most notably by the tracker mortgage scandal. The Central Bank Tracker Mortgage Examination demonstrated significant consumer harm and failures by mortgage lenders. Over 41,000 customers have been identified as impacted by tracker failures by their lender and over €730m in redress and compensation has been paid out those customers by their lenders. While the supervisory phase of the examination concluded with the publication of the Central Bank’s "Tracker Mortgage Examination Final Report" in July 2019, the Central Bank continues to monitor the outcomes of any complaints, appeals and court cases.
Furthermore, the Central Bank’s enforcement investigations are ongoing. To date, some enforcement actions have concluded and the Central Bank has fined PTSB €21m, KCB in excess of €18m and Ulster Bank in excess of €37m in relation to tracker mortgage related failings. These significant fines demonstrate the gravity which the Central Bank views tracker related failings by lenders to their customers.
There is now a heavy onus on banks to demonstrate that they can earn the trust of their customers. Consumer protection begins with firms themselves. Firms are responsible for selling their customers products that meet their needs both now and into the future. Firms must also have effective cultures and set the right standards. Responsibility for setting those standards rests with the boards and senior leadership of the banks, and they will need to clearly demonstrate that they will meet those standards into the future. Indeed it is a minimum requirement that customers should be able to trust their banks. The work being undertaken by the Irish Banking Culture Board is important in this regard.
