Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Finance, I do not have a role in the setting of deposit rates in any bank, even one in which the State has a shareholding. Decisions in this regard are the sole responsibility of the board and management of the banks, which must be run on an independent and commercial basis. The independence of banks in which the State has a shareholding is protected by Relationship Frameworks, which are legally binding documents that cannot be changed unilaterally. These frameworks, which are publicly available, were insisted upon by the European Commission to protect competition in the Irish market.

Not withstanding the above, officials in my department contacted AIB in relation to this matter and the bank has provided the below information:

"In September 2023 EBS increased its Family Savings rate to 3%, and the EBS Children & Teens Savings rates increased to 2.50%. At the same time EBS also increased the rate of its Instant Access account 0.25%. EBS Family Saver rate of 3% (previously 2%) applies to savings between €100 and €1,000 per month for the first year and a rate of 1.25% applies in Year 2 onwards.

EBS’ Children’s and Teen Savings rate increases to 2.50% up to a max balance of €5,000 (previously 1.50%).

Actions taken in 2023:

• Interest rates have increased across a range of EBS deposit accounts which include Instant Access, Regular Savings and Children/Teen type accounts.
• EBS has made changes to its deposit interest rates on 3 separate occasions in 2023.
• Q1: Increased interest rates for 4 EBS Deposit Products
• Q2: Increased interest rates for 4 EBS Deposit Products
• Q3: Increased interest rates for 5 EBS Deposit Products
• All changes to deposit interest rates in 2023 have been communicated via:
• Press release via media – with widespread coverage received
• EBS Savings and Deposits website pages updated with new deposit interest rates
• Staff FAQ and briefing material to support customer engagement
• Interest rate changes for Variable Deposit Products appear on the customer’s bank statements

Note: Customers who hold Fixed Interest Rate accounts are engaged with prior to their fixed term maturing."