Charters of customer rights are all the rage these days. And the banking sector is the latest to get in on the act. The Irish Bankers Federation has launched a charter, which comes into effect next week. Savers and investors are promised up-to-date advertisements of any information relating to their products and a full explanation " on request" from their bank on the basis of which returns are calculated.

When applying for a loan, the charter points out that customers can request in writing the name and address of any third party which provided information about their credit standing which caused a loan application to be turned down. The third party can then be asked to amend any unfair information and if the customer is still unhappy, the Director of Consumer Affairs can be asked to investigate. And all in the interests of openness and transparency, of course.