Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 21 September 2022

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

Banking Issues: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I believe our regulator, in the Central Bank, has put a huge amount of effort into this investigation, and has been instrumental in dealing with what is a scandal. I also believe that we, as a political class, do not serve ourselves well if we do not recognise the work that has been done by regulators that are now strengthened with new powers. It is also the case that when the representatives of the regulator from the Central Bank appear before the committee, the members and the Chairman raise issues with them that are of concern. The Chairman does that well.

On what the Central Bank has done, the overall fine that has been imposed is €96.7 million. My understanding is the reason a discount was made available was that alongside that, AIB accepted liability and did not look to dispute the penalty. The current CEO of AIB was not CEO at the time when this issue occurred in relation to tracker mortgages. From engaging with him, I believe he is committed to trying to bring the tracker mortgage issue to a resolution. I believe that overall, our regulator has used new and extensive powers that we have made available to it extensively. I have not always been happy with the engagement between the regulator and our banks, which is why I became involved in this issue a number of years ago.

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