ISME calls for PAC to review bank practices
ISME has described the latest bank controversies as "reprehensible" and has called on the Government to appoint a legally-backed Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to undertake a root-and-branch review of bank practices.
The business lobby group said that the latest scandals were totally undermining to the relationship between banks and SMEs.
Chief Executive Mark Fielding claimed that recent revelations may be 'just the tip of the iceberg'.
He also claimed that SMEs are charged the highest interest rates in Europe, with some companies paying 78% more for finance than their European competitors.
Consistently failing to fully pass on interest rate cuts, overcharging for drafts in the lead-up to the Euro changeover and operating a cartel in foreign exchange transactions in 1997 and 1998 were among the list of offences the ISME chief executive said banks were guilty of.
Fielding said today: "It is ironic that the bank controversies have been exposed by former and present disgruntled employees, providing concrete evidence that the various bodies charged with regulating them, including the Director of Consumer Affairs, the Central Bank, the Revenue and the Government of the day have all failed to adequately monitor and control the sector.
"We are calling for the Government to introduce a well-resourced, legally-backed PAC-type committee to carry out a root-and-branch investigation of all aspects of bank dealings with their customers.
"Any issues that need to be addressed must be done in an open forum with the authority to impose penalties, if so required."
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