Sir, – Today, as a customer of PTSB, I received an email from the chief executive, informing me of the agreed sale of the bank to Bawag. In bold text, the email assured me that “there is no impact to you”.
My cynicism is not specific to this sale of a public asset, but it strikes me as completely unrealistic. As a former subsidiary of Cerberus, “one of the most active buyers of distressed Irish loans in the wake of the financial crisis ... Bawag is expected by analysts to accelerate cost-cutting at the bank” (“Bawag: what can Irish consumers expect from PTSB’s new owner?,” Business, Joe Brennan, April 14th).
Of course it is. They’ve just agreed to spend €1.62 billion on the purchase and they’ll want that back and then some.
Who will pay for this? At a guess, that’ll be the staff and the customers. The more things change, the more they stay the same. – Yours, etc,
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CONOR BRADY,
Cloughjordan,
Co Tipperary.
