Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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283. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether the Central Bank tracker investigation is an important tool in rebuilding trust in banking institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53008/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Public trust in the banking industry has been badly damaged in recent years, most notably by the tracker mortgage scandal. The Central Bank Tracker Mortgage Examination demonstrated significant consumer harm and failures by mortgage lenders. Over 41,000 customers have been identified as impacted by tracker failures by their lender and over €730m in redress and compensation has been paid out those customers by their lenders. While the supervisory phase of the examination concluded with the publication of the Central Bank’s "Tracker Mortgage Examination Final Report" in July 2019, the Central Bank continues to monitor the outcomes of any complaints, appeals and court cases.

Furthermore, the Central Bank’s enforcement investigations are ongoing. To date, some enforcement actions have concluded and the Central Bank has fined PTSB €21m, KCB in excess of €18m and Ulster Bank in excess of €37m in relation to tracker mortgage related failings. These significant fines demonstrate the gravity which the Central Bank views tracker related failings by lenders to their customers.

There is now a heavy onus on banks to demonstrate that they can earn the trust of their customers. Consumer protection begins with firms themselves. Firms are responsible for selling their customers products that meet their needs both now and into the future. Firms must also have effective cultures and set the right standards. Responsibility for setting those standards rests with the boards and senior leadership of the banks, and they will need to clearly demonstrate that they will meet those standards into the future. Indeed it is a minimum requirement that customers should be able to trust their banks. The work being undertaken by the Irish Banking Culture Board is important in this regard.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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284. To ask the Minister for Finance when the results of the Central Bank tracker investigations which are completed will be published in respect of banks (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53009/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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With regards to the Deputy's question, officials from my Department reached out to the Central Bank of Ireland and received the following response:

"The investigations into Bank of Ireland and AIB are ongoing and the Central Bank cannot comment on specifics of any ongoing investigations.

As the investigations were commenced at different times, they will conclude on different timelines."

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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285. To ask the Minister for Finance if Central Bank enforcement notices will continue to be produced and published in respect of investigations completed on domestic banking firms, particularly banks (details supplied); the proposed schedule for these publications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53010/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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With regards to the Deputy's question, officials from my Department contacted the Central Bank of Ireland and received the following response:

The Central Bank’s enforcement investigations and actions build on the Tracker Mortgage Examination, the largest and most complex consumer protection review the Central Bank has ever undertaken, and further demonstrate our commitment to our consumer protection mandate.

In accordance with the Central Bank’s principles of working with integrity and transparency, public statements are issued at the conclusion of enforcement actions. These statement also serve to inform and advise the financial sector and consumers of expected standards and behaviours.

To date, we have published statements in respect of the three concluded tracker enforcement actions into PTSB, KBC and Ulster Bank, which are available on the Central Bank of Ireland website.

The investigations into Bank of Ireland and AIB are ongoing and the Central Bank cannot comment on specifics of any ongoing investigations. As the investigations were commenced at different times, they will conclude on different timelines.