Bank charges at 27.05% - Shameless self-interest

NOBODY is foolish enough to confuse the banks and the Salvation Army but we should all be able to sleep easy in our beds believing they are not pirates either.

From Monday week bank customers who find themselves in difficulties over repayments face a rate that would make a loan shark like Tony Soprano weep with envy. AIB is to charge, amazingly with the approval of the Financial Regulator, up to 27.05% on “out of order” current and loan accounts from Monday week. This represents a 33% hike in AIB’s surcharge rates.

Last year AIB recorded pre-tax profits of €2.5 billion.