10 April 2024
By David Lynch
david@TheCork.ie
Cork consumers should have access to more banks from across Europe which would cut costs and bring more competition into the market. This is according to Ireland South nominee in the upcoming European elections, John Mullins.
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He said that just like airlines being able to operate in other countries under the Open Skies policy, so too should banks under an Open Banking policy.
“We need to focus on bringing more competition for consumers into the banking market in Ireland. Currently, we really have just three consumer banks operating here in Ireland. We have seen how successful Revolut has been since it came here but we need more than that. With very little competition in any market it is essentially the consumer who suffers and that is what is happening with banking in Ireland right now.
“I believe it is possible for European banks to operate in Ireland as banks in Europe are regulated by one entity, which is the European Central Bank (ECB). We need to start exploring options on how we can do this and help consumers in Ireland get cheaper mortgage and lending rates and higher deposit rates for their savings. There should be no reason people in Ireland cannot get mortgages from banks in Central Europe at cheaper rates than they are currently being offered by widening out the market.”
John is a first-time candidate for the European Elections for Fine Gael and is entering politics from a business and civic background. He is also an accomplished entrepreneur.
He founded renewable energy company, Amarenco in 2013 and was nominated as an EY Entrepreneur of the year in 2019. He also served as Chairman of the Port of Cork and was Chief Executive of Bord Gáis Eireann from December 2007 until the end of 2012. During this time, BGE established a significant electricity business and developed significant renewable and conventional generation assets. He has held other senior management positions with ESB, ESB International, PricewaterhouseCoopers (UK) and NTR plc. He has dealt with banks all over Europe.
He is a Fellow of Engineers Ireland and the Irish Academy of Engineering. He holds a Bachelor and Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from the Smurfit Business School in UCD, Dublin.
In civic life he was the founding Chairman of Anamcara, Chairman of the Cork Committee of Cooperation Ireland and is the Chairman of Energycloud. John was awarded a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Government for sustainable investment in France.