Surging bank profits prompt call for Irish windfall tax

As Irish banks enjoy surging profits, their customers were found to have the lowest deposit rate gains out of the Eurozone, UK and US

Ireland's three remaining pillar banks have seen profits soar on the back of continuous interest rate hikes and growing concentration arising from Ulster Bank's and KBC's departure. File Picture: Dan Linehan

Surging profits and a failure to increase deposit rates have prompted a call for windfall taxes to be applied to Irish banks, reflecting measures currently being implemented across the EU.

As sticky core inflation continues to hurt consumers, Ireland's banking sector has cashed in on nine consecutive interest rate hikes by the ECB, with recent half-year earnings revealing a surge in profits across AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB.