A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
One Direct criticised for advert slogan
One Direct, the financial services subsidiary of An Post, has been censured by the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) for a press and television advertisement that claimed "car insurance costs less with One Direct".
A complainant objected to the slogan on the grounds that he had obtained a quote from One Direct on three separate occasions and they were never cheaper than his existing insurer.
One Direct said the "it costs less" campaign referred to the package of additional benefits included in the price of its motor policy. Other providers may offer cheaper prices, but do not include the same benefits, it said.
But the ASAI upheld the complaint on the grounds that the advertisement was misleading and contravened the Code of Advertising Standards.
RaboDirect to reduce fund fee
RaboDirect is charging a reduced fee on the Merrill Lynch World Mining Fund for the month of September.
As part of its fund of the month promotion, people who invest in the fund through RaboDirect.ie will pay an entry fee of 0.25 per cent instead of 0.75 per cent. An exit charge of 0.75 per cent will apply, while there are also fund management fees of 1.75 per cent charged by Merrill Lynch.
The World Mining Fund invests in the equity securities of global mining and metals companies.
BoS(I) increases rates on savings
Bank of Scotland (Ireland), the bank that will soon rebrand as Halifax, has increased the interest rates on its two fixed-rate savings products.
The bank's one-year fixed rate has increased from 3.05 per cent to 3.25 per cent, while the two-year fixed rate has increased by a quarter of a percentage point from 3.25 per cent to 3.5 per cent.
The minimum deposit to open a fixed-rate savings account at the bank is €2,500 and the maximum deposit is €250,000. Following the last increase in the European Central Bank rate, the variable rate on the bank's monthly savings account is 4.5 per cent.
