I put my trust in PMS officials, says saver

Mrs Gwen Smyth, who described herself as ‘a life-long Presbyterian’, was among the delegation to travel to Stormont recently to address the Treasury Committee, which had travelled to Belfast to stage an inquiry into the collapse of the Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS).

It has been revealed that around 9,500 savers with the PMS have lost the ability to access their savings, and that for some they had lost access to their life savings.

In a statement to the Inquiry, Mrs Smyth said her family were “lifelong Presbyterians” whose life revolved around the Presbyterian church.

“We used the PMS because of the brand Presbyterian,” she said, adding: “We were very cautious and, especially when it came to financial decisions, we were more than cautious.”

“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.”

She said it was “very comforting” that the Presbyterian General Assembly endorsed the PMS formally each year and particularly so in June of 2008. There had also been a call from Presbyterian pulpits in summer 2008 for people to place their savings in the PMS, she said.

The Committee delegation included the chairman of which John McFall, and they asked Mrs Smyth whether she 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.

Mrs Smyth told them she had “limited knowledge of such matters” and she had placed her trust in the PMS directors and officers.

She revealed that 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 said 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. 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.”

Mrs Smyth said the Committee’s visit had been “very important” as it allowed them to see first-hand the suffering of savers.

“John McFall came with one objective in mind - to move the process forward - and achieved it,” 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.