Madam, - For those of us swimming in the deep end of the pool the sight of Charlie Bird and others splashing around in the kiddie end is becoming very tiresome.
I am a business customer of AIB. I have not lost confidence in the banking system. I have not met anyone who has lost confidence. The only thing I have lost confidence in is the need for regulation. Not one customer complained. What is the need for a regulator on the charges any business makes as long as they are transparent?
Everyone knew what they were paying in charges. My company carried out a number of foreign exchange deals. I have no complaint about the rates and I do not want any refunds to satisfy some ill-informed hysteria and an unnecessary regulator.
What makes all this so annoying is the waste of banks' resources in investigating these imaginary problems. The main Irish banks may be bastards, but they are our bastards. I would rather be dealing with Bank Centre or Baggot Street, not Berlin or Brussels.
The real scandals, such as the offshore schemes for senior bank personnel, seem to be forgotten.
Will those who are out of their depth please leave the pool? - Yours, etc.,
JAMES FOX, Managing Director, IMC Packaging Ltd, Oak Road Business Park, Dublin 12.
Madam, - I'm puzzled. AIB fails to do itself justice in its advertisement in your edition of July 24th entitled "Making Amends".
Since "there is no evidence of a culture of overcharging, but [the investigation\] has brought to light a number of process weaknesses and product design shortcomings", it stands to reason - does it not? - that there must be approximately the same number of instances where these process weaknesses and product design shortcomings led to AIB undercharging customers.
I can understand that a financial institution would be bashful about admitting to any shortcomings, but this at least would help to balance the books. Perhaps some investigative journalist would undertake to redress the balance in this regard. - Yours, etc.,
PADRAIG McCARTHY, Avoca, Co Wicklow.