Banks have duty to pass on reduction

IT is not only intolerable of Ireland’s major banks to prevaricate on passing on last week’s interest rate reduction

While it is laudable of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to pressurise the financial institutions to follow the ECB’s example, the political reality is that the Government cannot compel them to lower interest rates.

A similar call had already come from Tánaiste Mary Harney, but the banks and building societies are more likely to heed Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy’s budget threat to penalise those that fail to drop rates in the wake of the ECB move.