Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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214. To ask the Minister for Finance if he agrees that bank charges should be abolished; if he will instruct financial institutes here to eliminate banking fees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45672/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Firstly, I want to welcome the respective decisions of Ulster Bank and KBC to remove certain maintenance fees. This will reduce the cost that customers may incur by potentially having two current accounts open at once during the mass migration of accounts.

While I welcome these actions, as Minister for Finance, I do not have a direct function in the operations of any bank. Although the State is a shareholder in some of the banks operating in the State, they must be run on a commercial and independent basis.

The charging of fees is a commercial decision for regulated entities, but this is subject to the regulatory framework which is the responsibility of the Central Bank of Ireland. Under Section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act, 1995, credit institutions must notify the Central Bank if they wish to introduce any new customer charges or increase any existing customer charges, in respect of the provision of any of the following services:

- making and receiving and receiving payments;

- providing foreign exchange facilities;

- providing and granting credit;

- maintaining and administrating transaction accounts.

Each notification received by the Central Bank is assessed in accordance with the specific criteria set out in Section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995. The Central Bank may either approve (in full or at lower levels than requested) or reject a credit institution’s application under Section 149. In fulfilling its statutory role under Section 149, the Central Bank assesses these notifications in accordance with the following specific assessment criteria as set out in the legislation:

- the promotion of fair competition;

- the commercial justification;

- the effect new charges or increases in existing charges will have on customers; and

- passing on costs to customers.

Approvals are issued in the form of a letter of direction and the entity is legally bound to comply with this letter of direction. The letter of direction sets out the maximum amount the credit institution is allowed to charge. Credit institutions are free to impose any pricing differentials for the service up to the permitted maximum and are free to waive fees at their discretion for commercial or competitive reasons.

The letter of direction also sets out that credit institutions must publish the charges to be imposed on notices, leaflets, and promotional material etc. which should be made available to customers and on the credit institutions website if appropriate (the withdrawal of the fees will also be notified to the relevant customers prior to withdrawal).

Where a regulated entity intends to introduce new charges or increase any existing charges, under provision 6.18 of the Consumer Protection Code, it must give notice to affected consumers of the introduction of any new charges or of increases in charges, specifying the old and new charge, at least 30 days prior to the charge taking effect.

In relation to current account fees, the Deputy may wish to note that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission operates a comparison tool for current accounts (including information on fees) on its website. This can be used by consumers to find the account which best meets their needs.