Central Bank has issued its latest update

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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****PRESS RELEASE AND ATTACHED DOCUMENT UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 1 P.M.****

https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/def...gage-examination---february-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=4

4 February 2019

€647 million paid to affected customers - Central Bank Tracker Mortgage Examination

  • Redress and compensation payments now largely complete with €647 million paid out by lenders at end-December, an increase of €67 million since end-August
  • Number of affected customers stood at 39,800 at end-December, an increase of 1,400 since end-August 2018
  • 97 per cent of verified affected customers have received their redress and compensation at end December 2018

The Central Bank has published the penultimate update on the Tracker Mortgage Examination, showing that, at end-2018, lenders had paid out €647 million to customers affected by their failings. This is an increase of €67 million since end-August.

The update also showed that an additional 1,400 affected customers have been included by lenders for redress and compensation since end-August. This brings the total number of affected accounts at end-2018 to 39,800.

97 per cent of affected customer accounts already identified and verified have now received offers of redress and compensation. The supervisory phases of the Examination are nearing completion, with the final report expected to be published in the coming months.


The Central Bank will continue to challenge all lenders until it is satisfied that all groups of affected customers have been identified. While the vast majority of affected customers have been identified, this continuing supervisory work may result in the identification of some additional affected customers before the Examination is concluded.


Enforcement investigations are being conducted in parallel with the Central Bank’s supervisory work. As enforcement investigations are at different stages, they will conclude on different timelines; however, it is expected that some will conclude this year.

Derville Rowland, Director General Financial Conduct, said:

“The extensive, intrusive and complex work we’ve undertaken throughout the Examination has always been about ensuring that lenders identify, redress and compensate affected customers for the wrong which they caused. The vast majority of affected customers have now been identified and paid, with €647 million in redress and compensation paid out at end-December. As the supervisory phase of the Examination is nearing completion, we will continue robustly to challenge the work lenders are doing in identifying, redressing and compensating those customers affected.

The Examination has revealed the unacceptable damage that misconduct can cause to consumers up to and including the loss of their homes and properties in some cases. The Central Bank’s strategic commitment is to elevate the regulation of the behaviour of firms and the operation of financial markets in order to protect consumers.

The Examination was structured to give priority to ensuring affected customers received the redress and compensation payments which they were owed. However, our work will continue through the ongoing enforcement investigations.”



ENDS

Notes

  • The €647 million paid out by lenders to end-December includes €47 million paid out outside of the Tracker Mortgage Examination.
  • The figure of 39,800 affected is an aggregate figure including c.32,700 affected customer accounts accepted by lenders to date as part of the Examination as well as c.7,100 tracker mortgage cases remediated following Central Bank intervention outside of the Examination.
  • Through these enforcement investigations, which span lengthy time periods, the Central Bank is seeking to establish the circumstances in which customers lost their trackers and how lenders dealt with tracker mortgage issues as they became aware of them. The enforcement investigations are also examining whether the documentation, which customers received from lenders, was clear and what key decisions lenders took (or omitted to take) which resulted in customers losing their trackers or being on the incorrect rate.
 
Here is the response I am sending to the media

Comments on the Tracker Mortgage Update from the Central Bank

Brendan Burgess



Contrary to the impression given by the Central Bank, the tracker story is far from over

These comments in the press release and the actual report might give the impression that it’s nearly finished

97 per cent of verified affected customers have received their redress and compensation at end December 2018

As redress and compensation payments to affected customers are largely complete, the purpose

of this update is to provide an overview of the number of affected customers and

amounts paid in redress and compensation at end December 2018.



The Redress and Compensation payments are not largely complete.

The banks might be hoping that they are largely complete. The Central Bank might be hoping that they are largely complete. But they are not.

There are many individuals and cohorts of customers who feel that they have not been adequately redressed. The Tracker Story will not be complete until these cases have been decided by the Ombudsman or by the High Court.

But 5,800 AIB customers got a derisory offer of €1,615 for AIB’s failure to offer them a tracker when their fixed rate expired. The Central Bank has chosen not to challenge AIB any further on this, but the affected customers will challenge it via the Ombudsman and the High Court. If they win their case and get an average refund of €30,000, it would cost AIB approximately €200m.

The Central Bank dismisses these cases as “operational failures - customers affected by short-term operational type failures and ones who are receiving a flat payment because they were not offered a rate in accordance with the account terms and conditions.”


But if you are paying the highest Standard Variable Rate in the eurozone instead of a fairly priced tracker, you will not see this as just an operational failure.



Thousands of Ulster Bank customers who switched from Ulster Bank to another lender have received a refund of the overcharge only for the period up to the date they switched. They are entitled to apply for a refund of the difference between what they paid the new lender and what they would have paid Ulster Bank. In one case outlined on Askaboutmoney, user Pat123 got an automatic refund of €9,000 in November 2017. He pursued this and a year later got a further €46,000 and has moved back from AIB to his tracker with Ulster Bank for the remaining duration of the mortgage. Many of these Ulster Bank customers have been confused by the lengthy documentation have not got their trackers back. The Central Bank should direct Ulster Bank to restore all these customers to their trackers and to have no time limit.
 
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Thanks for all you are doing Brendan...….I just wonder will anyone have success with this appeals process or do the banks believe that the worst is now behind them?
 
Having read the report I'm delighted to see that the banks' not adhering to the "Stop Further Harm" principle is being investigated also. This is something I, and others, raised with the Finance Committee and the Central Bank on numerous occasions. It'll be interesting to see how the Central Bank deals with the non compliance.
 
While I am very disappointed that the Central Bank did not agree that the PTSB discount trackers were not part of the redress I am hoping that the FSO finds in our favour and the figure put out by the central bank rises even further!
 
Thats great Brendan, fair play for sending that response and for all youre work. You might not agree that the variable base rate cohort have a case but i would be very surprised if this group is a beaten docket just yet, my partners case is about to go to PK and if he says she has no case thatll be fair enough. As the author of one of the biggest threads on youre site i sincerely hope it has a way to go yet.
 
1. Up to Dec 2017 33k customers affected to the tune of 297 million.

2. 1 year later a further 7000 customers affected to the tune of 647 million.

3. A near 90% increase in redress and compensation yet only a small % increase in numbers affected.

4. Customers suffering the most detriment being left till last.......just speculating!

OR

5. A huge number of appeals were upheld by the appeals panels which relate to earlier impacted customers
 
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Trackman said:
1. Up to Dec 2017 33k customers affected to the tune of 297 million

2. 1 year later a further 7000 customers affected to the tune of 647 million.
Click to expand...
Not exactly.

Dec 2017, 33k were deemed impacted, but only 287m had been paid.
The figures don't tell us how much of the 647m now paid related to that original 33k, but was only paid out in 2018.
 
EBS has some explaing to do surley it's about time someone can tell us for sure if variable base rate cohort has been impacted by now no need to repeat our grivence here again but this is gone on too long they know our contracts are ambiguous to say the least an d I want answers now either way so I can decide how to proceed futher
 
RedOnion said:
Not exactly.

Dec 2017, 33k were deemed impacted, but only 287m had been paid.
The figures don't tell us how much of the 647m now paid related to that original 33k, but was only paid out in 2018.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Not exact but the impacted customers Vs redressed % is accounted for in all the previous CBI reports which was above 85%

The average payments are increasing dramatically as the investigation continues.
 
Trackman said:
Agreed. Not exact but the impacted customers Vs redressed % is accounted for in all the previous CBI reports which was above 85%
Click to expand...

I've no idea what you're talking about.

From Dec 2017 update below, which shows that 59% of those impacted had received redress at that date, amounting to 297m (average 14.7k; if we exclude the pre examination cohort related to springboard, the average was 19.4k)

Taking details now, 97% of the total have received a total of 647m. Or an average of 16.7k. again removing Springboard, the average is 20.4k.

It would be expected for the more complex cases to take longer. Also, UB redress was delayed and they have some of the bigger cases.

From Dec '17:
"As at mid-December, following Central Bank challenge, lenders have included
c.33,700 customers as affected by tracker mortgage failings. To date, €297 million
has been paid in redress and compensation. This is broken down as follows:
1. 13,000 customers identified through the Examination to the end of
September and who were the subject of lenders’ October 2017
commitments. The Central Bank can confirm that 9,200 of these customers
have been paid €170 million. The majority of the remaining customers can
expect to receive redress and compensation by year-end.
2. A further 13,600 customers have been accepted by the lenders in their
redress and compensation schemes since September. This has occurred as
a result of the Central Bank’s challenge of lenders. The Central Bank can
confirm that 3,700 of these customers have been paid €80 million. The
Central Bank will be vigilant in ensuring that payments to the remainder of
these customers are progressed at pace.
3. This is in addition to 7,100 cases involving tracker mortgage issues which
were remedied outside of the Examination. Redress and compensation of
€47 million was provided by permanent tsb plc and Springboard Mortgages
Limited."
 
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It's truly remarkable that the banks get to decide whether a customer lost their home as a result of an overcharge
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Great heading from RTE online today, but it's just one particular case.

Why the tracker mortgage controversy is far from over
Click to expand...
Excellent article

"Mr Deering decided that the mortgage provider had adopted an obstructive approach and awarded the couple €90,000 in compensation. Arrears and tracker cases aren’t necessarily the same thing, but it does give an insight into how seriously the FSPO takes serious mistreatment of customers. Then there are those for whom this issue will never end because of the permanent damage it has done to them and their loved ones. Lost lives, lost homes, lost time, lost sleep, lost happiness - what should have been precious years for many, instead filled with an angst that can never be put right by monetary compensation. Financial advisors and politicians share stories of sitting across tables from men and women, reduced to tears by these inexcusable banking practices. They speak of young family futures, or dreams of stable retirements perhaps, torn apart by at best incompetence, and at worst deliberate calculated malevolent decisions."

Section above was copied from the article. Glad to see Ger Deering using some strong language in this to describe some of the actions of the banks and the highlighted words describe perfectly what happened in my particular case. My tracker case is one of the individual cases that has slipped through the cracks, so I likely still have a long wait ahead of me. For me how they treated us in relation to a relatively small amount of arrears after a third party acting on our behalf went in liquidation was shameful and my only real option and hope is for the FSPO to deal with both the tracker issue as well as the banks mistreatment of us.
 
After rereading the article, it appears not all of the above section that I copied was quoting Ger Deering. Either way it's good to see the bank's mishandling of customers in arrears being highlighted by this author.

I have seen plenty on how the bank mistreated tracker cases and handling of data requests but I haven't seen to much on how banks mistreated customers in arrears. Not sure if the numbers affected are low or that they will only come to light after the FSPO or courts deal with these types of cases
 
For me and my experience with the bank and those of my friends while I would love to put it down to
' incompetence'
I think we all know that is not true and that what we experienced in the last 10 years was deliberate calculated malevolent decisions - and this was done acrooss every single bank.

AND where was the the CBI, The Ombusman, the consumer protection agency since 2009/10, the minister for finance when this started happening - who else participated / or wilfully ignored these deliberate calculated malevolent decisions for so so many years?

and still nothing changes -- the banks right now are still doing their VERY best with whomever they think they can - not to sort out their customers
 
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