AIB overcharging was spotted two years ago

THE error which caused AIB to overcharge foreign exchange customers to the tune of €14 million was spotted two years ago, but acted upon only in the past number of days.

This was confirmed last night by the bank which has issued an unreserved apology to customers who were affected by the excess charging, double the approved margin, in foreign exchange transactions.

“The mistake was known at a senior level in the organisation in the last number of days, it was seen at a lower level in the organisation in 2002, just under two years ago, but the people who noticed that at that time were not aware that we didn’t have the authority for the charge involved,” said Mr AIB executive John Hickey.

The Irish Financial Service Regulatory Authority has ordered an investigation into the impact the overcharging had on customers.

It also wants to know how the bank plans to compensate the customers who were overcharged and how the overcharging was able to continue undetected for so many years.

The revelation of the overcharging attracted condemnation from right across the political spectrum.