Ten sue banks over ‘mis-selling’

Ten people involved in property partnerships have sued Ulster Bank Ireland Ltd and First Active plc over the alleged mis-selling of derivative agreements or swaps to hedge “notional liabilities” for more than €65m.

Mark Colgan, one of the 10, said he had only a “basic” knowledge of swaps but had agreed a swap for €15.5m by phone while lunching in Davos, Switzerland, during a skiing trip in Jan 2008, on which he had been invited by the Ulster Bank property lending team. That swap was agreed to hedge a debt on property at Sandyford, Dublin, he said.

It is claimed the defendant institutions had not adhered to the Central Bank code of conduct for investment business in relation to how the disputed swaps were put in place.