The oldest thatched pub in Ireland is at the heart of an emerging property loan scandal at the Bank of Ulster.
Vincent Hurl, the owner of the Crosskeys Inn, took out a £775,000 fixed-rate loan in 2008 to buy a commercial property. But despite the loan being fixed, the NatWest subsidiary added swap agreements to the deal, loading Hurl loan with additional liabilities.
He says the move was done without his knowledge and damaged his credit rating, scuppering his development plans.
Hurl had nearly £300,000 of extra debt put onto his loan and was moved to the bank’s notorious Global Restructuring Group.
It adds weight to concerns raised by Ian Tyler, a former group head of capital at Royal Bank of Scotland, about an alleged lending scandal at Ulster Bank.
Tyler, an expert in bank finances, claimed Ulster Bank had lodged enormous “hidden” liabilities against the names of small business customers in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with “awful” consequences for livelihoods.
MPs are calling for an inquiry.
