Thousands of customers of PTSB are trapped in uncompetitive variable mortgages, forced to pay sub-prime rates because they cannot move to cheaper deals, especially if they are in negative equity.
The scandal has been overlooked by politicians and regulators, who have directed their anger instead at AIB, BoI and Ulster Bank for failing to pass on to homeowners all of the interest rate reductions announced by the ECB since November
PTSB is more expensive than these lenders , despite passing on the recent ECB reductions in full. This is because it increased the SVR four times between July 2009 and February 2011, when the rate jumped by a full percentage point in one go, even though the ECB left interest rates on hold throughout the period.