€69m returned to customers in bank overcharges

More than €69m has been returned to customers who were overcharged by their banks, according to the Irish Financial Services Regulator.

Publishing its first ever annual report today, the financial regulator said it had identified 259 "charging issues" involving 32 financial institutions since its establishment in early 2003.

IFSRA said most of the problems had arisen due to human error or poor controls rather than any deliberate attempt to rip off consumers.

However, it said it was confident the systems and controls in place were "generally robust".