Fears consumers will bear brunt of €300m bank levy

FEARS that consumers will bear the brunt the €300 million levy imposed on the banks was one of the hot post-Budget topics yesterday.

Davy Stockbrokers senior analyst Scott Rankin said this could be done in the way the banks vary mortgage rates in the post-ECB 0.5% cut environment. He thought the possibility unlikely but saw it as an option open to the banks.

An Irish Bankers’ Federation spokesman rejected any suggestion that this would be done.