Court can only overturn tracker decisions if it finds 'serious' error

Ulster Bank challenging ombudsman’s decisions in three cases of borrowers who were excluded from redress in an industry-wide examination overseen by the Central Bank between late 2015 and mid-2019

The ombudsman issued binding decisions that customers in the three cases had an 'enduring contractual entitlement' to tracker loans, which are tied to the European Central Bank’s main interest rate, after periods on fixed-rate loans. Picture: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie

Three decisions that found Ulster Bank customers were entitled to tracker mortgage compensation can only be overruled if the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) fell into “serious and significant error”, the High Court was told on Friday.

Lawyers for the FSPO submitted the case before the court was “fairly straightforward” and the bank’s claim there were errors in the decisions does not meet the “high threshold” that would enable Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger to overturn the findings.