Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 15 December 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Banking Issues in Ireland: Central Bank

Photo of Mairead FarrellMairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have a report that Cerberus, which is one of the most aggressive vulture funds, has stated that it is considering buying up Ulster Bank’s entire loan book, which would be extremely worrying. Can Mr. Sibley explain what impact this will have on Ulster Bank borrowers, customers and mortgage holders? He stated earlier that there should be no place in Irish banking for vulture funds. I would be interested in hearing if he would support Deputy Pearse Doherty’s No Consent, No Sale Bill, which would prohibit the sale of mortgage loans to vulture funds without the consent of borrowers.

Another question concerns the impact of the withdrawal on the Irish market. I know that Deputy Pearse Doherty wrote to the Central Bank on 25 November about the withdrawal and the impact that would have, and that the Central Bank said in response that the exit of one entity from such a system, all other things being equal, could contribute to upward pressure to lending interest rates and could potentially lead to weaker credit availability. For Mr. Sibley, what would the withdrawal of Ulster Bank mean for the Irish banking sector and consumers?

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