One of the State's small business lobby groups has called for a Dail committee to investigate whether Irish banks are overcharging customers.
The Irish Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (ISME) organisation has called for a Dail inquiry to undertake a similar examination of the Irish banking sector as the Cruickshank Report in the UK.
"The implications of the Cruickshank Report into lending practices should not be ignored by Irish regulators. Given the familiarity of the Public Accounts Committee into banking practices in Ireland, ISME believes it should now be mandated to commission a similar investigation into bank charges and the interest rate structure as applied to small business," it said yesterday.
Since the 1995 Consumer Credit Act, Irish financial institutions can only increase their charges to customers with the approval of the Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley. The Republic and Spain are now the only EU states where bank charges are regulated in this way.
Under the Act, the authorised officers can enter premises, view and copy documentation, and interview bank staff about charging practices. Ms Foley was unavailable to comment on the Cruickshank Report yesterday.
Irish banks have long claimed that their charges are not out of line with the EU. Information compiled by the Irish Banks' Information Service states there has been no increase in any bank's account maintenance or transaction charges since 1994.
