BANKS WILL BE FORCED TO TELL CUSTOMERS ABOUT CHEAPER MORTGAGES ON OFFER - Banks in Ireland will be required to inform their mortgage customers each year about alternative loan products that they could switch to and save money, under new rules being planned by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Lenders will also be required to publish more information around their policies for setting variable mortgage rates, under changes to the consumer protection code that are due to be announced by the regulator on Thursday, says the Irish Times. These changes were outlined by Central Bank governor Philip Lane in a letter last week to Irish MEP Brian Hayes, who has been pushing for new rules to encourage higher levels of mortgage switching at a time when standard variable rates here are about 2% higher than in other euro zone countries. Mr Lane said the annual statement of account and notification of an interest rate change that is sent by a lender to their mortgage customers “must include a summary of other products provided by the regulated entity that may provide savings to the consumers and details of where further information can be obtained”. This must include a link to the mortgage-switching section of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (CPCC) website. In addition, a lender must prepare and publish on its website a “summary statement of its policy for setting each variable mortgage rate for a personal consumer”.
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'EXCEPTIONAL' PERFORMANCE DRIVES NTMA'S €0.5m PAYMENT - The number of staff at the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) receiving bonuses has almost quadrupled, with 60 staff receiving almost €500,000 in performance-related payments for last year.
In 2015, 16 staff at the State's debt management agency received performance-related payments in respect of 2014, totalling €79,200. However, the figure soared to €492,5000 last year, with 60 staff sharing performance-related awards for "exceptional performance", says the Irish Independent. The NTMA, which last year issued €13 billion of bonds at low yields and through the Irish Strategic Investment Fund (Isif) committed €759m to Irish investments, refused to be drawn on the detail of the increases. However, no bonus payments were made to any member of the senior management team either in respect of last year or 2014. Some 258 NTMA staff shared a €1.9m bonus scheme in 2010, but the numbers fell dramatically in 2011 when just five staff shared €62, 610. "Performance-related payments are made in accordance with parameters approved by the Agency's non-executive Remuneration Committee," said the agency in its annual report, adding that such payments are subject to the approval of its Remuneration Committee.
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PORT OF CORK BOOSTS PROFITS BY 79% - Increased activity at the Port of Cork saw profits increase by 79% to almost €4.5m last year.
The State-owned company, which oversees port operations in Cork, saw revenue from charges to port users and property rental increase by 12.9% to €29.8m, says the Irish Examiner. Ireland’s second busiest port also reported growth in the volume of goods passing through Cork in 2015 - up 8.6% to 11.02 million tonnes - although there was a slight decrease in the actual number of vessels - down 10 to 1,174. In its annual report the company welcomed the decision by An Bord Pleanála, last May, to grant planning permission for a €100m redevelopment at Ringaskiddy which it described as a "critical infrastructure project". The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2018. Port of Cork chairman, John Mullins, said the overall project would facilitate, on a planned basis, the transfer of cargo handling facilities from Tivoli and the City Quays to Ringaskiddy.
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STANDARD CHARTERED WARNS OF MOVING HQ FROM BRITAIN IF BANKS ARE HIT WITH BREXIT TAX - Standard Chartered's chief executive has said the emerging markets bank would consider moving its headquarters out of the UK if the country’s vote to exit the EU prompts politicians to pummel the banking sector with extra taxes.
Bill Winters told the Financial Times: “There is so much fiscal pressure on the government; it could be tempted to take another swipe at the banks and that would cause us to take another look at the headquarters issue.” He said the anti-establishment mood that drove many people to vote for Brexit - made him worry that the big lenders would “continue to be treated as the piggy banks to be raided whenever you need money”. StanChart has considered leaving the UK before, most recently after the government ratcheted up the special levy it imposes on the banking sector last year. But relocation is not on the agenda of StanChart’s board, even though its share of the UK bank levy rose a fifth to $440m last year. Its bigger rival, HSBC, decided earlier this year to keep its headquarters in the UK after a 10-month review and it said recently that the Brexit vote would not reopen the issue. Last year the government said it would gradually reduce the bank levy and make it less punitive for global lenders, particularly HSBC and StanChart.
