Treasury Committee 'achieved objective'
A LIFELONG Presbyterian has welcomed the visit of the Treasury Committee to Belfast to inquire into the collapse of the Presbyterian Mutual Society.
The influential Treasury Committee (TC) chairman, John McFall, said they had also come to inquire into the plight of the 9,500 PMS savers, many of whom have lost access to life savings.
Gwen Smyth from Claudy told him that her family were "lifelong Presbyterians whose life revolved around the Presbyterian church — we used the PMS because of the brand Presbyterian.
"We were very cautious and especially when it came to financial decisions, we were more than cautious," she told the MPs.
"We took comfort from the fact that the literature did say that the organisation was being run by experienced laymen and clergymen and also that it did not speculate with our money."
Mrs Smyth told the committee it was "very comforting" that the Presbyterian General Assembly endorsed the PMS formally each year and especially so in June 2008.
There had also been a call from Presbyterian pulpits in summer 2008 for people to place their savings in the PMS, she added.
The committee asked her had she not been worried that in March 2006 the PMS was speculating twice as much in commercial property as in mortgages. It pointed out that the PMS assets went from 24m in 2003 to 300m in 2008.
But she responded that she had limited knowledge of such matters and had been placing her trust in the PMS directors and officers.
In October 2008 she rang the society to query how safe her money was.
"We had been left in a desperate situation in that we had saved all our lives and put our money into the PMS," she said.
They had sold their property and just built a new home and were expecting the bill from the builder.
But savers were not being given accurate information when they made inquiries, she said.
"I phoned the PMS on 14 October, I spoke to the secretary of the society whom I held in the same regard as a bank manager and he advised me that everything was fine," said Mrs Smyth.
She told the PMS secretary she was concerned that a 50,000 deposit guarantee was being rolled out across the banking sector.
"And I asked the gentleman, is my money safe because if it is not I really must lift some money at this point in time to meet my obligations?"
In response, she said the secretary laughed and said: "Everything is fine you have absolutely nothing to worry about."
Mrs Smyth added: "But less than a month later my money was frozen."
Asked how the PMS grew so rapidly, she pointed to adverts carried in the Presbyterian Herald and the related word of mouth.
"I am responsible for at least two other savers having their money in the PMS and hence my desire to bring a successful resolution to this, because I have an obligation to them."
Speaking last night she said the TC's visit had been "very important" in seeing first hand the suffering of savers. "John McFall came with one objective in mind and achieved it; to move the process forward," she said. “He ensured that accountability and responsibility were placed with the appropriate departments.”
Mr McFall concluded the hearings by saying there had been a gap in regulation and that “political will” was required to rescue PMS savers. He will present a report to Government in several weeks.
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Tuesday 29 May 2012
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