Finally, the gloves are off over the tracker scandal

IT WILL be some time yet before we can say for sure whether it was stupidity born out of overconfidence or indifference facilitated by a lack of oversight that enabled the banks to unleash such havoc. Finally, if belatedly, the Central Bank has put away the kid gloves and there are signs that errant banks in the future can expect to deal with knuckle-dusters. Following harrowing and heroic accounts of the hardships endured by those caught up in the tracker scandal, the financial watchdog has bared its teeth, revealing an appetite to bite.

Executives from the Central Bank endured a torrid time at the Oireachtas Finance Committee, and it would appear that the experience has led to a new determination to act as an enforcer.

In the past, the bank was castigated for being more poodle than doberman when guarding the public interest. It was said to be more lapdog than watchdog in its relationship with lenders. Nowhere was this criticism more acute than on the issue of the abuse of tracker mortgage holders.

But no more. Derville Rowland is the new sheriff in town as director general of financial conduct. She intends to lay down the law. We know of 33,700 cases where banks have been remiss on trackers – 37 have lost their homes, and 79 buy-to-lets were sold due to tracker overcharging.

Fining the banks for bad behaviour is not the answer. They merely pass the buck to customers. Proving criminal behaviour is a big ask, but the signal has gone out that hopefully things are going to change, and the era where only the customer is called to account is at last over.