We must eradicate this culture of contempt

THE Central Bank has been asked by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to produce a report on the culture that pervades the banks.

But we already know the culture in the banks is toxic and twisted.

It is a culture that allows the rip-off of thousands of tracker customers, even their own staff. It is a culture that permits overcharging for mortgages, and then the billing of consumers in the form of higher charges, despite the banks being saved by the taxpayers of this nation.

All in all, it is a culture that displays the utmost contempt for Joe and Josephine Public.

And despite all the brouhaha in the last month alone on the tracker overcharging scandal, there is no sign that banks and other lenders have changed in any way, shape or form.

Variable mortgage rates are among the most expensive in the world, as banks here are charging nearly twice the eurozone average.

Then there is the ongoing tracker mortgage theft scandal.

Banks have had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the Department of Finance and the Central Bank, to get them to agree to be honest and give back trackers to those customers who should never have been denied the low-rate options.

Now AIB is to face sanctions from the Central Bank for overcharging thousands of customers by denying them trackers. This is a major blow to AIB chief executive Bernard Byrne’s attempts to clean up the tarnished reputation of the bank.

It means five lenders are facing enforcement proceedings from the Central Bank.

They include Permanent TSB, Ulster Bank, KBC Bank and Bank of Ireland.

Central Bank Governor Philip Lane has acknowledged that the extent of the tracker scandal is set to widen.

AIB is facing fines of up to €10m, or 10pc of turnover. Remember, that €10m is an amount so paltry for a big bank that it represents the profits it will make in a day or two.

But will individual bankers be held accountable by the Central Bank, or even by gardaí? Don’t hold your breath on that one.

The latest example of banking’s utter contempt comes from the fact that lenders are turning on its head the recent Oireachtas legislation designed to remove their veto on debt deals.

Banks have had it too easy for too long, and are clearly out of control.

It is high time the rules were rewritten to put consumer protection at the heart of regulation. Only then will we remove the banking culture of contempt.