ANALYSIS: Yesterday, true to form, the Irish Bankers Federation (IBF) presented a survey it had commissioned that showed Irish banks were not the worst offenders when it came to extracting money from their customers and, indeed, in some cases could be judged to be providing reasonable value for money, writes Siobhán Creaton

Mr Jim Bardon, IBF general secretary, said the findings "confirmed" its claim that bank charges in Ireland were competitive. But Irish banks have a lot more work to do if they are to persuade their customers and the Competition Authority that they are not making excessive profits on basic financial services.

The report was a pre-emptive strike, coming at a time when the IBF is preparing to persuade the Competition Authority that its fees and charges are fair. The authority is compiling data from all the banks and is expected to have concluded its study by the end of the year.

The IBF survey tried to establish how much it would cost an Irish consumer to operate a current account or repay a loan in another European country. But it failed to make allowances for the way prices may be skewed in different markets to dissuade customers from writing cheques or to make it more attractive to bank online, for instance, which could have a significant impact on the average figures calculated.

It also used different countries to compare the cost of the four banking services, generating suspicion that some of the more expensive states could flatter the result. It is also noteworthy that no price comparisons were made with banks in France or Italy.

It will not come as any surprise that Irish banks have been shown to be fairly competitive when it comes to providing mortgages. But consumers are keenly aware that this is only because the Irish institutions were forced to cut profit margins after Bank of Scotland entered the market.

While the survey paints a reasonable picture of the cost of personal loans here, Irish consumers are right to be suspicious that they should be even cheaper. Many of the banks are offering personal loans at more than 9 per cent above the ECB rate.

Bank of Ireland-owned Davy Stockbrokers recently issued a report suggesting the Competition Authority could force banks to pay interest to current account holders. It suggested that its parent and AIB were earning up to €170 million a year from operating current accounts yet all banks claim this is a loss-making service.