Tenfold rise in fines urged for financial bodies

FINES for banks who deliberately flout regulations should be increased 10-fold to a maximum of €50 million, an Oireachtas Committee report said last night.

The all-party body on Finance and the Public Service’s hard-hitting report also called for statutory internal audits in financial institutions to tackle overcharging.

The body also found that the banking sector is not sufficiently competitive and that consumers were paying too much for credit and money payment services.