Bank of Ireland Criticized for Failing to Disclose Loan Sale
Bank of Ireland faced strong criticism from the Supreme Court for not disclosing that it had already agreed to sell a mortgage involved in an ongoing case to Pepper Finance before the appeal was ruled.
“Bizarre,” declared Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne, describing the bank’s omission to inform the court about the sale.
According to the court, the mortgage — owed by Brian and Attracta Murray of Killybegs, County Donegal — had been pledged for sale to Pepper Finance last December, even before the Supreme Court heard the appeal by Mr Murray concerning a €132,000 judgment against him.
“The Supreme Court was not happy, to put it mildly,” Ms Justice Dunne added. “Everything we have seen from the bank to date has been unsatisfactory.”
The judge, one of the State's most senior, emphasized that the bank failed to present all the information that should have been available to the court. This failure prompted Mr Murray, represented by Gary McCarthy SC, Patrick F. O’Reilly SC, and David O’Brien, to seek to have the judgment against him overturned, citing incomplete disclosure of relevant facts.
Details of the loan sale to Pepper Finance surfaced only after three of five Supreme Court judges rejected Mr Murray’s appeal in June.
Author’s Summary
The Supreme Court labeled Bank of Ireland's nondisclosure of its loan sale to Pepper Finance as “bizarre,” raising serious concerns about the bank’s transparency in ongoing litigation.