Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The 300,000 or so standard variable rate customers in the system whose mortgages are with the main banks are paying an interest rate that the Governor regards as high at 4% to 4.5% in the majority of cases when the banks' cost of funds typically lies between 1% and 2%. The banks are taking advantage of and exploiting those customers. The banks clearly have a major problem with tracker mortgages, on which they are not making much of a profit, if any. They seem to be heaping all of the burden on the variable rate customers and extracting the maximum amount of profits from them.

The Governor is not prepared to seek additional powers to intervene, but has he held discussions with the banks and conveyed to them the views he communicated to us, namely, that the rates are high? If he is not prepared to use hard pressure and seek additional interventionist powers, has he used soft pressure? Has he even raised the issue with the banks?