Bankers face pay penalty over tracker mortgage overcharging scandal

The Central Bank has expressed its growing exasperation with Irish banks, and has hinted at imposing individual fines and claw backing pay of top Irish bank chiefs if they fail to come into line following their handling of the €1bn tracker mortgage overcharging scandal.

The director general of financial conduct at the Central Bank, Derville Rowland, has called in colleagues from the Dutch central bank to conduct an audit on the “behaviour and culture” of five Irish banks and will weigh bringing in tougher personal controls over individual bank chiefs if their conduct does not improve.

Such controls would be similar to those faced by bank bosses in the UK, which the Central Bank here believes will close remaining loopholes.