US stocks fell tonight as New York State followed California in ordering non-key workers to stay at home and the UK caught up with the rest of Europe by ordering the closure of pubs and cafes to fight the deadly Covid-19 outbreak.

The bank, whose major shareholder is the State, said free maintenance and transaction fees for current account holders with a minimum balance of €2,500 in each quarter will be withdrawn on May 30.

Shares in AIB posted crisis-era losses as international investors assessed the damage to the economy and the loan books of the country’s banks from the fallout of the Covid-19 crisis.

Phone scams are becoming increasingly common, but there's a lot you can do to protect yourself, says Rowena Walsh.

Bank of Ireland said it will advance emergency business loans for companies hit by the coronavirus fallout, while rival AIB said there was an increased risk of the outbreak damaging the Irish economy.

There was little sign of any significant consumer spending upsurge, with spending last month little changed from January 2019.

The final bill for KBC Bank Ireland for its part in the industry-wide tracker mortgage scandal is likely to settle around €143m and the number of cases for the bank is unlikely to rise significantly above the 3,769 accounts affected.

Irish consumers remain “wary” about the future despite feeling better about Brexit, which may explain the views of voters in the final week of the election campaign, according to a major survey.

GDP growth is an imperfect guide, while age, financial security, and a sense of purpose are better at predicting the population’s sense of wellbeing, according to a new survey on financial security by KBC Bank Ireland.

Irish business leaders and analysts have hailed the prospects for the UK approving the withdrawal agreement next month but warn that the risk of Brexit disruption may be just delayed for a year.

New data released by the CSO illustrates the reliance on existing builds in the property market. It also shows price inflation at its lowest point since December 2007.

The Government hauled in a record amount of corporation tax revenues in November of €3.1bn that have already made October’s budget estimates out of date.

Irish banking faces another overcharging scandal, as EBS investigates the way it has bundled charges for building and life insurance payments and mortgage protection insurance into its monthly mortgage bills.

The chief of KBC Bank Ireland has said its parent is “absolutely committed” to staying in Ireland even as the top boss of the Belgian group expressed impatience with the long-running Central Bank review into

Irish jobs growth fell for the first time in seven years in the second quarter of the year, indicating that employment may be reaching peak level.

KBC Bank Ireland has confirmed that it will not challenge customer complaints in relation to the tracker mortgage scandal on the basis of time limits.

Almost a quarter of people here say they can’t afford a holiday this year, while those who are taking a break are not spending significantly more than they did a year ago.

Almost one-quarter of people here say they can't afford a holiday this year, while those who are taking a break are not spending significantly more than they did a year ago.

Official data indicates that Irish people take on average two holidays per year.

House prices will grow at a crawl next year but there will be no repeat of a property crash here under a crash-out Brexit at Halloween, the boss of KBC Bank Ireland has said.

AIB is not expecting to be hit with a fine from the Central Bank over its part in the tracker mortgage scandal until next year at the earliest, but it has put aside €35m for the eventuality.

The Central Bank needs to be given stronger powers to sanction banks, according to the chair of the Oireachtas Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform Committee.

The tracker mortgage scandal has shattered lives and inflicted “huge human suffering and cost”, according to the Minister for Finance.

The KBC Bank Ireland Consumer Sentiment Index released today shows consumer spending edged slightly higher in June.

The size of the national debt may no longer be a constraint for Government spending as the world enters a “new era” of permanently low borrowing costs, leading economist Austin Hughes has said.

The new boss of KBC Bank Ireland has said he is currently “comfortable” with its share of the Irish mortgage market and indicated he has ruled out selling soured mortgages to vulture funds.

Before the financial crash the return for savers on their deposits with almost immediate access to the money was running at around 3%.

Philip O’Leary, managing partner of Cork law firm FitzGerald Legal & Advisory, has been appointed as a board member to the Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB), funded by Ireland’s five main retail banks with the aim of rebuilding trust in the sector.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe looks set to have ample room for spending rises and tax cuts in his next budget even as the Government cut the growth outlook.

The financial adviser credited as one of the architects in exposing the €1bn tracker mortgage scandal has insisted he “will not become a member of the club” when joining the newly established banking culture board.

A lifting of the Brexit gloom and the relief of Britain ruling out crashing out of the EU would likely spur Irish households to spend more on pricey consumer items, a leading economist has predicted.

KBC Bank Ireland got a huge financial boost from rapidly increasing house prices in 2018 but the outlook suggests Irish lenders will have fewer opportunities to tap this year.

This year, a further seven companies were recertified to the standard: Boots Retail, CRH, Deloitte, ESB, Gas Networks Ireland, Intel and KBC Bank Ireland.

Consumer confidence has slumped to a 21-month low amid rising concerns over Brexit, increased household costs such as rent and heat, and limited expectations of gains in next week’s Budget.

Soaring house costs that push people further away from their places of work due to unaffordable property prices are causing a form of “involuntary social engineering”, according to a brokers’ body.

Eamon Quinn Individual Irish consumers are still not feeling their household wealth improve significantly, even as overall spending in the economy picks up because more people are back in work, according to a survey by KBC Bank and the ESRI.

Up to 30% of Irish consumers expect their financial circumstances to improve before the end of the year, according to the KBC/ESRI consumer sentiment index for January.