THE HEAD of an Oireachtas committee is to meet the Financial Regulator this week over his claims that banks overcharged customers systematically by up to €100 million over the past decade.
Fianna Fáil TD Michael Moynihan confirmed yesterday he would be bringing evidence of the overcharging to the regulator this week. Mr Moynihan is chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs and the allegations were supplied to him by whistleblowers from within the banking sector.
The alleged overcharging took place in the form of additions to interest rates or fees charged to customers.
Mr Moynihan, a TD for Cork North West, said he had supplied the regulator with documentation backing up the claims, but he declined to comment further in advance of this week’s meeting. He said the information from at least two whistleblowers revealed overcharging on “an extraordinarily extravagant” scale.
All the main banks, apart from Permanent TSB, figure in the allegations. A spokesman for the regulator said overcharging was a major focus for the organisation and it was working with firms to ensure that errors were corrected and refunds made.
“We have been very active in this area recently, which has resulted in quicker responses from the banks to ensure that any errors are corrected and refunds are made.” He added: “We welcome anyone who comes forward with information and should any information be brought to our attention, we will pursue it”.
Overcharging cases are generally dealt with in private by the regulator with the bank concerned, and settlements are only revealed afterwards. Critics have pointed out that the absence of penalties fails to deter banks from making further errors, but regulator Matthew Elderfield, last week told the committee chaired by Mr Moynihan that overcharging was an area for enforcement action.