The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs has warned financial institutions to "change and quickly" their attitude to making charges as transparent as possible.

Mr Tom Kitt said he was "extremely disappointed" about the banks' progress on agreeing a voluntary code on the issue since last autumn. "I am not convinced that sufficient progress is being made or that there is sufficient commitment from the banks and other financial institutions."

Given recent controversies in the area the need for charges to be as transparent as possible is "paramount", he said.

"Because of the urgency of the issue the industry should approach this task as a matter of urgency to enable the voluntary code to come into being as soon as possible and certainly by the end of the year."

He called on the banks and building societies to give their full support to the code of practice on transparency which they are drawing up with the director of consumer affairs.

According to a spokeswoman the minister will call in the institutions if they do not comply quickly.