The Irish Banker's Federation (IBF) yesterday launched aattack on the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs over its critical assessment of the industry, submitted last week to the Competition Authority.
IBF president Mr Donal Forde, in a letter to the director of consumer affairs Ms Carmel Foley, says her office's public criticisms were "not merited when their factual basis is examined".
The IBF fundamentally disagreed with Ms Foley's assertions that price control in the sector was good and that legislation obliging banks to justify fees and charges should be retained.
Mr Forde attacked Ms Foley for issuing conclusions based on what he claims was inaccurate and misleading information, and he suggested that the director is unwilling to consider arguments put forward by the industry he represents. His letter lists a series of claims made against the banking sector in the submission by Ms Foley's office and places them side-by-side with what he calls "the facts".
Among the assertions refuted in the letter is the suggestion that the Irish banking industry is one of the most profitable in Europe. The IBF claims it comes 11th in a list of 23 comparable countries.
To the director of consumer affairs' claim that bank charges have not been static, the IBF says that charges on the "most popular transactions" have risen by only 3.1 per cent since 1994, compared with an overall inflation rate of 29.5 per cent, in that period.
The IBF also claims that the average Irish credit card interest rate of 18-19 per cent, as quoted by Ms Foley's office, is wrong and that the very high fixed charges associated with credit cards in some other European countries was not taken into account when comparing the different markets.
