OUTGOING EUROPEAN commissioner Charlie McCreevy has said he has a right to confidentiality over the circumstances in which the Irish Nationwide (INBS) granted a €1.6 million mortgage to enable him to buy a property at the K Club resort in Co Kildare.
Interviewed today in The Irish Times, he says the management by the building society of his loan application was "nothing to do" with him.
“I’d prefer not to comment at all because I strongly believe that I’m entitled to the same level of confidentiality in connection with my personal affairs as any other borrower, no more but certainly not less than anybody else.
“In my lifetime I must have dealt with hundreds of loan applications, either for myself or on behalf of clients of my accountancy practice.
“Never in all of that time has it been the responsibility of the borrower to have any knowledge of the lending practices or policies of the lender. You’re simply the borrower and you wish to obtain the loan.”
It was his experience in Ireland and Brussels that lenders were always more interested in a borrower’s record and repayment capacity, describing that as the “ultimate decider” on a loan application.
INBS granted the €1.6 million loan to Mr McCreevy and his wife Noeleen on a property on the Ladycastle estate at the K Club in September 2006.
The building society’s records state the property was valued at €1.5 million.
A Prime TimeInvestigates programme on RTÉ reported that the loan was granted by Michael Fingleton, then INBS chief, despite the society's guidelines not allowing 100 per cent mortgages.
“Can I say that I retired from Irish politics in 2004. All of this took place after that time,” Mr McCreevy said.
“However, I believe that’s somewhat irrelevant because whether you are a TD, Minister or a private citizen, that should have no bearing as you must be entitled to borrow like anybody else.”