Mr. Padraic Kissane:

The Central Bank can only deal in the facts of the case and that is probably what is causing the major issue. It is trying to establish the facts. At the moment, there are data requests and access requests for each account. We have a number of cases where some of the documentation that makes reference to tracker issues has now been withdrawn which is an astonishing development. We have seen it in a number of cases in the past couple of days. The replies are telling me where they are positioning themselves. Some are caught in some areas but know they have wiggle room in other areas. They have one purpose, which is to get out of this as cheaply as possible. If they can save some of the amount they are provisioning it goes straight back into their profit figures. I do not know how any bank could have provisioned any number when they do not know the cause and effect of what has happened. One cannot multiply certain figures across every family, individual or young person. I have referred to some of the more traumatic things as examples. I challenge any of the banks to question anything I am saying. I say bring it on. They should show me where I am wrong and then I will stop saying it. If a bank thinks that two plus two will become five or three, they are wrong. The one word that describes the whole tracker debacle and which captures it all is "control". I have said this for quite a long time. The customers had control of the costs of their loans when the margin applied above ECB and the banks did everything in their power to get that control back. That is what it is about. They had lost the control by creating the product. Astonishingly, Irish Nationwide Building Society is the one bank about which I have had no complaints about the product. It is no longer a bank but it used to be in operation. That astonishes a lot of people but the reason is it never offered the product. It knew exactly the consequences of taking up the product and chose not to do it.