Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 13 May 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform

Overview of the Banking Sector in Ireland (Resumed): Permanent TSB

2:00 pm

Mr. Shane O'Sullivan:

Yes. My commitment, as it has been here every time, is that I am more than happy to speak to the Deputy offline or directly with his constituents on a case-by-case basis. In a more general sense, we said at the outset that when we talk about fairness, we have an obligation to a great many customers and a great number of stakeholders. At the very core is an obligation on customers who have debt to repay the debt. For us to forgive any of that debt goes to the corner of moral hazard. I must have a balance of fairness when I think of, for example, constituents of the Deputy who have worked during very difficult times to repay their mortgage. I have to be mindful of the sacrifices and commitments they have made versus other situations where people have not been able to make that same commitment. I also have to be mindful of contagion or the problem of strategic default that if debts are being written off for certain cohorts of customers, it might encourage other customers who have struggled or who do not struggle and can repay their mortgage not to do so. We believe we have struck a fair balance.

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