Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy TD today urged the Government and Central Bank to call in the Gardaí to investigate the conduct of bankers in the overcharging of tracker mortgages.
Speaking today, Deputy Murphy said:
“This seems to me nothing short of thievery. In any other such circumstances you would expect the Gardaí to be investigating the people within banks who deliberately engaged in these overcharging practices that have come to light. Those individuals have to be held accountable. The only way the grossly unjust overcharging on tracker mortgages will be resolved is to punish the bad behaviour of banks and bankers who have engaged in these practices.”
“The cost and impact on individual families is enormous and it’s deeply unjust that banks continue to treat people as pawns in their quest to rebuild from their self-inflicted disasters. It is imperative that those homeowners impacted get adequate remedies as soon as possible to prevent further damage to their lives.”
Calling on the Government to take control, Catherine Murphy continued:
“The Government have been sitting back for years on this issue. It’s long past time for them to sort this out. It’s only when banks and bankers get hit in their own pockets that we will see any resolution.”
“In the forthcoming Finance Bill, the Government should apply levies on bank profits that are in excess of the estimated amounts they have made from these fraudulent rates. That will make the shareholders sit up and take control.”
“As the main shareholder in some of the banks involved, the Government should ban all staff bonuses until each bank has rectified the issue, restored the proper rates and compensated the individuals for their losses.”
ENDS
19th October 2017