Banks must not be allowed get away with mortgage robbery anymore

DURING the week Allied Irish Banks announced losses of more than €2.65 billion for 2009. In explaining the situation, Colm Doherty, managing director of AIB Group, described the current state of retail banking in Ireland as “quite dysfunctional”.

Since this country’s credit rating declined it has become more costly to borrow money. Now Irish banks have to pay more for the money they borrow than they were previously charging their customers. Hence AIB will have to charge more for the money it lends.

One does not have to be an economist to recognise that charges for money are going to go up in 2010. This will have to include mortgages.