Businessman John Nagle has told the High Court he was told by Bank of Ireland he should “hand over” his family home if he wanted to “avoid the publicity of a court case”.

Mr Nagle, former chief executive of card payment company Payzone, and his wife Joan have brought proceedings against Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank.

The case arises out of the couple’s appeal against the bank’s refusal to accept their proposals concerning repayment of their mortgage on their home at Falls Road, Shankill, Dublin. The bank contends the action is “misconceived”.

In September 2009, after the mortgage fell into arrears, the bank brought proceedings seeking judgment for €5.1 million against the couple. In negotiations, the Nagles advanced proposals for repayment but the bank’s arrears support unit rejected those in May 2011. The Nagles appealed under the Central Bank’s code of conduct on mortgage arrears but claim they have been unable to advance that appeal due to the bank’s failure to provide them with information on the appeal procedures and other necessary information.

In their court action, they are seeking various declarations including that the bank has failed to comply with the code and failed to put in place any written procedure for handling appeals. The bank denies the claims.

The case continues.

Clarification

In The Irish Times edition published on November 27th, it was wrongly stated that Bank of Ireland had obtained judgment against the Nagles. The bank has brought summary proceedings seeking judgment against the Nagles which have been stayed by the High Court.