Mr. Padraic Kissane:

Ms Grogan mentioned that she went into a branch of PTSB and met a mortgage adviser. The bank does not advise on mortgages. It is astonishing stuff. If they had to admit that they advised on her mortgage, it would create a fiduciary duty of care. The only reason they stated that they do not advise on mortgages is to prevent that from occurring. It opens them up to legal problems. Ulster Bank responded to me, in respect of a complaint, that they "have no fiduciary duty of care to [their] customer and as such are entitled to look after [their] own economic welfare." The committee is starting to understand the world in which I have had to exist since 2009, when nobody listened. Similar to Ms Byrne, before I advised my clients in Ulster Bank to fix for three years, I rang Ulster Bank. If the members ask the bank officials today, they will deny ever telling me that the people would go back to tracker. I had to find out for my clients before I gave the advice, because I was advising on the mortgage. This is the type of trickery and nonsense. "Condescending" is the word I would use. It was an attitude of "Who do you think you are to even challenge the hierarchy of a bank?" All of a sudden, the reply to questions as to all those who were in the bank at that time is that they are gone now. That does not absolve the name of the bank from the actions of such people. There are some who are getting it but, by God, it is a torturous journey.