Brendan Burgess
Founder
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Cliff Taylor had a good article on this issue at the weekend
Cliff Taylor: Its lose-lose for bank customers as AIB starts to exit State ownership
...the fattening up of bank profits to allow the State’s shareholdings to be sold off has meant Irish bank customers have been getting a raw deal.
...
But is the Irish public paying too much to keep the banks in the money? The numbers say that we are. The latest [broken link removed] figures show the average interest rate on new mortgages in [broken link removed] is now 3.44 per cent, compared to a euro zone average of 1.88 per cent.
...
Savers are also hit. Deposit rates are on the floor all over Europe,but the average interest rate on a deposit account here at 0.1 per cent is below the euro area average of 0.42 per cent. We are getting caught both ways.
...
All this has helped the two big banks to return to handsome profits, with AIB’s intention-to-float document clearly outlining its healthy margins. With limited signs of additional competition entering the Irish market and the banks’ investors looks for a return, do not expect this to change.
Cliff Taylor: Its lose-lose for bank customers as AIB starts to exit State ownership
...the fattening up of bank profits to allow the State’s shareholdings to be sold off has meant Irish bank customers have been getting a raw deal.
...
But is the Irish public paying too much to keep the banks in the money? The numbers say that we are. The latest [broken link removed] figures show the average interest rate on new mortgages in [broken link removed] is now 3.44 per cent, compared to a euro zone average of 1.88 per cent.
...
Savers are also hit. Deposit rates are on the floor all over Europe,but the average interest rate on a deposit account here at 0.1 per cent is below the euro area average of 0.42 per cent. We are getting caught both ways.
...
All this has helped the two big banks to return to handsome profits, with AIB’s intention-to-float document clearly outlining its healthy margins. With limited signs of additional competition entering the Irish market and the banks’ investors looks for a return, do not expect this to change.
