Ball back in Government’s court, say advisers

Senior debt advisers say the last of the senior bank chiefs to appear in front of the Finance Committee puts the contentious issue of home owners paying high standard variable rates firmly back in the Government’s court.

Jeremy Masding, the chief executive of Permanent TSB, was the latest bank boss to say that he would not bend to intense pressure from opposition politicians who claim that customers are paying for the mistakes of the banks in having to pay high standard variable rates.

Mr Masding yesterday mounted a robust defence of PTSB saying that its mortgage rates fairly reflected the costs of doing banking in Ireland following the country’s financial crisis.