European Competition Commissioner Mr Mario Monti said yesterday he had evidence that some banks had fixed fees for exchanging euro-zone bank notes, raising the prospect of heavy fines from Brussels.
"It seems that our suspicions are proved correct, at least in several countries," Mr Monti told the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee. "A statement of objections could be prepared . . . in the course of this semester."
A statement of objections is a formal notice served by the Commission when it believes it has enough evidence to fine companies for operating a cartel. It gives a company a last chance to respond formally to such allegations.
Mr Monti's comments follow months of investigations into bank fees for exchanging currencies and carrying out cross-border payments in the 11 EU countries that introduced a single currency a year ago.
European Commission antitrust officials raided eight leading banks in Germany, France, Italy and Spain last February, shortly after the introduction of the euro. This was followed last October by surprise inspections at Irish, Dutch and Belgian financial institutions. In Ireland, AIB and Bank of Ireland were raided.
