Permanent TSB rates ‘not a ripoff’

The chief executive of Permanent TSB has told an Oireachtas committee reviewing the conduct of the banks that PTSB is not ripping off its customers by charging too much for its standard variable mortgage rates.

Jeremy Masding said PTSB set its home loan rates to reflect the higher funding and other costs prevalent in Ireland — including dealing with the legacy of loan arrears — that make banking here much more expensive than other countries.

“We are impacted by the high volume of mortgage defaults we have in Ireland. It is an unfortunate fact that people who do pay their mortgages here, do have to pay a bit extra to make up for the historically high number of people who can’t or won’t,” he told the Finance and Public Sector and Reform Committee.