AIB must identify and repay customers, says Harney

There is an onus on AIB to identify customers who were overcharged for foreign-exchange transactions, the Tánaiste said this morning.

It emerged last night the bank had overcharged some customers to the tune of €14 million over the last eight years. AIB Chief Executive Mr Michael Buckley said it was an "administrative cock-up which should have been put right earlier and is being put right now".

Managing Director  Mr Donal Forde said executives had not been briefed on the software problem that caused the overcharging.

Speaking on RTÉ radio's Today with Pat Kennyshow this morning, Ms Harney said she was concerned and surprised that the problem "took so long to come to light.

"It has been happening since 1996. I understand two years somebody in the strategic development unit became aware of it, and it seems to me very disconcerting that nothing happened thereafter to rectify it.

"If it was the bank undercharging for eight years I'm quite certain it would have come to light an awful lot quicker," she said.

"The bank should be aware of who the people were and no matter how difficult it is to find that out, no matter how time-consuming it might be, I believe there is an onus on the bank to identify all of the people involved and to make sure the money is returned to them," the Tanaiste, and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, added.

The General Secretary of the Irish Bank Officials' Association called for an independent investigation. Mr Larry Broderick said he was "shocked at the revelations which are viewed by many as another damning indictment of the Irish Banking industry".

He added: "I find it extremely disappointing that senior bank management in AIB would attempt to blame junior staff before any independent investigation has taken place into this matter."

The AIB admission has drawn angry comment from other political parties. Fine Gael spokesman on enterprise, trade and employment Mr Phil Hogan said it represented the biggest single example of "rip-off Ireland" yet exposed.

"We have grown wearily accustomed to stories of overcharging across a range of sectors, but for one bank to overcharge its customers by €14 million puts all other stories in the shade," he added.

He said questions needed to be answered on whether or not customers will be recompensed for the overcharging to date. He also questioned whether faulty software was in use in any other financial institution

The Labour Party's spokeswoman on finance, Ms Joan Burton, said the revelations were "a shocking indication of the extent to which some financial institutions are prepared to profiteer at the expense of their customers.

"This is a bank after all that makes an annual profit in excess of €1 billion or more than €4 million profit each day yet they have clearly allowed a software system to continue in operation that they knew was overcharging their own customers," she said.

• AIB said a customer help line is available at 1800 787 564. This phoneline will be open from 8am until 8pm, Friday 7 May, and from 9am to 5pm on both Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 May.