Bankers deceived ministers over Covid mortgage interest..
Sinn Fein hits out at extra charges
SINN Fein has accused fat cat bankers of pulling the wool over the eyes of Paschal Donohoe and Leo Varadkar about interest charged on mortgage breaks.
As part of a deal with the Government during Covid-19, banks agreed to give struggling customers mortgage holidays of between three and six months.
But as revealed in the Irish Mirror last month, interest continued to accrue and the banks are set to reap between €100million and €250million extra from customers over the lifetime of loans.
They will hit individual customers and families for up to €4,000.
The Finance Minister and then Taoiseach met representatives of the main banks earlier this summer, where it was claimed bankers were told by the Central Bank they had to charge interest.
During the May 11 meeting, the minutes of which were obtained by the Sunday Business Post, Mr Varadkar said he did not want the banks to make any additional profits from customers.
Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty has slammed the banks, claiming they “misinformed ministers” during the meeting.
Mr Doherty said he received confirmation from the Central Bank that the regulator allows payment breaks to be applied, whereby interest does not accrue during the break period, something he says “completely contradicts” what bank bosses said during the May 11 meeting.
He added: “A story in yesterday’s [Sunday’s] Business Post reported minutes of a meeting held on May 11 between the five retail banks, the Banking and Payments Federation, the Minister for Finance and then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
“During the meeting, banks misinformed ministers the regulator required them to charge additional interest on payment breaks issued in the context of Covid19. This was and is not true. It is disturbing to read that Bank of Ireland and AIB in particular... openly misled senior ministers over such a serious issue. I will be raising this as a matter of urgency with the Central Bank.”
I will be raising this with the Central Bank
PEARSE DOHERTY YESTERDAY