Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Speaking at the Banking and Payments Federation, the deputy governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Ed Sibley, said that Irish bankers were displaying echoes of pre-crisis arrogance. My view is that it never left them and I am glad that the penny is dropping in the Central Bank.

He went on to say the banks were hitting mortgage holders with double the interest rates needed for them to make a profit, that they were charging new customers between 2% and 3%, while in some cases existing and loyal customers were being charged almost double these rates, at 4.5%. It is complete discrimination. He spoke about how the Central Bank must push the banks to be customer-centred in the process of solving problems with mortgage arrears and selling to vulture funds, etc. I note that a former Minister of State and the Tánaiste's old colleague, former Deputy Brian Hayes, completely disputes this, but his new job is to defend the interests of the banks as opposed to those of consumers.

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