Ulster Bank Appeals to Supreme Court, Puts Thousands of Tracker Mortgage Cases in Dispute

Ulster Bank is facing potential compensation payments to thousands of customers due to a recent court decision. Marcus Dowling, representing the bank, has indicated that they will seek to appeal directly to the Supreme Court, bypassing the Court of Appeal. If this fails, the bank will request an appeal before the Court of Appeal. The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO), the opposing party, has stated that they will communicate with Ulster Bank about this matter, but will not admit any error in their decisions. A hearing has been scheduled for later this month before Justice Marguerite Bolger.

Last month, Ulster Bank’s appeals against the FSPO’s findings were dismissed by Justice Marguerite Bolger. The FSPO’s decisions, based on the bank’s contractual and consumer-protection obligations, could potentially stand. Ulster Bank has expressed concerns about the impact of these cases on their operations, which may have “materially adverse” consequences, affecting thousands of customers and resulting in significant financial implications for the bank.

The cases involve two borrowers who were excluded from a general examination of overcharging by Irish lenders. In one of the cases, the borrowers signed a flexible mortgage transfer form in 2006, which entitled them to a tracker loan. After a fixed-rate period, the borrowers sought to revert to their previous rate, but the bank refused. Justice Marguerite Bolger ruled that the bank failed to inform the borrowers that the tracker rate might not be available after the fixed-rate period. Ulster Bank initially appealed a third decision but later agreed to set it aside. As a result, this decision has been remitted back to the FSPO for reconsideration.