TSB’s Desperate bid to ward off ECB’s rate? Mortgage holders of Permanent TSB who have made lump-sum payments of over €5,000 are to receive bonus payments of 10 percent from the bank. I believe the reasons are simple: Permanent TSB wants its tracker mortgage holders to clear their home loans faster. Another contrbuting factor that TSB would make assure the bonus is this: get loss-making mortgage trackers off and spare the bank the pressure of raising €4 billion for “protection” against any new shake-ups. This April, the European Central Bank raised its rate to 1.25%. It seems Irish Life & Permanent needs to raise at least €4 billion in capital as ‘proetction’ against financial shocks. The latest surprising turn of events is not so much for the bonus as it is for its timing and the size of the carrot. The bonus is offered to all tracker mortgages, residential, investment and commercial with the Permanent TSB. The mortgage will be