Cantillon: What’s it all about?

Yesterday was a busy news day, not least for the nation’s business reporters, many of whom were attending the Bank of Ireland’s sometimes tetchy AGM in Dublin.

The €843,000 package earned by chief executive Richie Boucher in 2012 and the €490,000 paid to Archie Kane (pictured), for what was described from the floor as his "part-time" job as the bank's chairman, were always going to make headlines.

The extraordinary line of defence adopted at the AGM by Government-appointed director Joe Walsh, who said the bank had only received €4.8 billion of the €64.5 billion in public money used to bail out the banking sector, and had already paid back all but €1 billion of this, beautifully illustrates how bonkers the situation of the banking sector has become.

Given that the Bank of Ireland AGM was always going to spark dismay and outrage among the general public, could a cynic be forgiven for thinking that someone in AIB decided yesterday might be a good day to announce a 0.4 per cent rise in its variable interest rate?

The bank wasn’t saying for sure but approximately 70,000 AIB customers are going to be paying more for their home loans come June, with customers of EBS also being hit with a lower rate increase.

The bank says that its funding costs require the interest rate rise and that, based on its understanding of how matters stand, it does not expect to be making another such announcement this year.

The decision comes a week ahead of the next meeting of the governing council of the ECB, which may well announce another lowering of euro area rates.

Another reason, no doubt, for AIB to release its bad news yesterday.