Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform

Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process: (Resumed) Permanent TSB and AIB

12:00 pm

Mr. Jeremy Masding:

We should go through the process. It is absolutely right that a customer has the right to appeal. As in any bank, I segregate duties because I do not want conflicts of interest. The appeals board is not staffed by anyone from the asset management unit. I also decided - to be fair, with the encouragement of the Central Bank - to bring in non-executive directors to the appeals board. Within the boundaries of what I can control, I can look in the mirror and say that it is independent, that there is segregation of duties and that we have introduced independent non-executive directors. At the policy level, if the system decides there must be a different way for appeals to work, I cannot control that. Do I believe I can look committee members in the eye and say that we pass the independence test and that we have an appeals board? The answer to both questions is "Yes".