Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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224. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of mortgage holders potentially affected by the case which came before the Supreme Court recently, relating to customers of the Permanent TSB bank who switched from a tracker rate to a fixed rate and were prevented from moving back to a tracker rate when their fixed rate period ended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7023/15]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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225. To ask the Minister for Finance if he expects a lump sum compensation payment to be made to customers of the Permanent TSB bank, who switched from a tracker rate to a fixed rate and were prevented from moving back to a tracker rate when their fixed rate period ended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7024/15]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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226. To ask the Minister for Finance the rate that will apply to customers of the Permanent TSB bank whose tracker mortgage has been restored, following the recent Supreme Court case, in circumstances in which their original loan document did not prescribe a margin over the European Central Bank rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7025/15]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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227. To ask the Minister for Finance if a regulatory sanction will be imposed on Permanent TSB for not allowing customers who switched from a tracker rate to a fixed rate to move back to a tracker rate when their fixed rate period ended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7026/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 224 to 227, inclusive, together.

I have been informed by permanent tsb ("PTSB") that it is currently subject to an Enforcement Investigation by the Central Bank in relation to the circumstances in which the bank refused to allow certain customers who had switched from a tracker rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage for an agreed term to revert to a tracker rate mortgage at the end of that term.  The bank based its refusal on the fact that these customers had not completed the agreed term of the fixed rate because they had chosen to break that term early in order to avail of lower variable rates available at the time.

PTSB has informed me that this Enforcement Investigation is ongoing and the bank is working with the Central Bank to identify relevant customers, to calculate the loss suffered by these customers, to agree an appropriate redress for those customers and to move these customers to the appropriate tracker rate.  While this investigation is ongoing it is not possible to state how many customers may be included in the exercise or what the total or average level of redress may be. 

The bank has made clear to my officials that it will do everything in its power to expedite this matter and ensure that all affected customers are identified and receive appropriate redress.  

I understand that as part of its Enforcement Investigation the Central Bank has the power to impose a regulatory sanction on the bank for its conduct in this matter but that is ultimately a matter for the Central Bank and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on that.

The bank has also been in contact with the Financial Services Ombudsman ("FSO") on this issue.  The bank has withdrawn an appeal which it had lodged in respect of a High Court decision in a case between the FSO and the bank.  The High Court found that the bank had acted in breach of the Consumer Protection Code on this matter by not specifically warning customers who broke the term of their fixed rate that they would lose the right to revert to a tracker rate at the end of the fixed rate term.  The bank has also indicated to the FSO that as part of its wider review, it wishes to review a number of similar cases which the FSO has received and which the FSO has not yet offered an opinion on pending the outcome of the Supreme Court Appeal.