Kerry charity denies report on banking fees

A Kerry charity has denied the content of a newspaper article that stated it had been subjected to unnotified charges by AIB.

Kerry Parents & Friends Association of the Mentally Handicapped also said it was not the case, as stated in the article in the Sunday Independent, that it was forced to close part of its services as a result of dealings with AIB.

"It did not and has not at any time sold off any assets in order to meet its financial commitments," the charity said in a statement.

The charity is understood to have received a €210,000 payment from the bank in relation to waived charges but neither the bank nor the charity would give precise details yesterday.

The charity, in its statement, said it had banked with AIB since 1973 and had always found the bank to be supportive. "AIB continue to act as the association's bankers and enjoy the complete confidence of the association."

The article said the bank had reached a €210,000 settlement with the charity arising out of a dispute over unnotified fees. However, a spokeswoman for the bank said no unnotified fees were charged to the charity. She said she could not comment further for reasons of client confidentiality.

It is understood the charity and the bank may have had a dispute over charges about which the charity felt aggrieved. The bank insisted it was entitled to impose those charges and that the charity had been notified about them. The matter was resolved when the bank agreed to waive the charges and the €210,000 payment was made.

The dispute may have arisen following a review by a third party of the charity's bank statements.

The latest filed accounts for the charity, for the year to end December 2002, show income for the year of €3.4 million and a deficit for the year of €280,944. Cash at bank, capital projects, was €1.6 million. The bulk of this was in a trust current account.