Allied Irish Banks has said that none of its staff will be disciplined following a fresh investigation which discovered that customers of the bank were overcharged by more than €21 million in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The overcharging by the biggest bank in the State was found to have applied to foreign exchange services and new areas such as lease contracts and the stamp duty on ATM cards. AIB will pay out €31.6 million, including interest, after the investigation into issues unresolved by the 2004 inquiry into foreign exchange overcharging.
This sum includes refunds of €11 million and a €20.6 million donation to charity in lieu of refunds to unidentified customers.
AIB chose a day dominated by Bertie Ahern's political difficulties to release details of the payments, which bring its total financial liability from the overcharging scandals to €65.8 million. While only one manager is known to have left AIB following the 2004 inquiry, no-one will be punished after the latest investigation. "In view of the lack of evidence, due primarily to the passage of time, it was concluded that disciplinary action could not be initiated against any member of staff," the bank said.
Chief executive Eugene Sheehy said he was satisified the investigations were now complete. "However, the failings which they identified are deeply regrettable and I apologise for them on my own behalf and on behalf of the board . . . I can assure our customers that we have learned valuable lessons and have taken comprehensive action to prevent any of these issues arising again."