Statistics published by the Central Bank last month show that that more than 94 per cent of the customers of the departing banks, as of early last year, had closed their current accounts by the end of May.
The IBCB survey of 1,009 adults in early April found that the average trust level across customers of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland as they hasten a retreat from the market is minus 38, which is materially lower than that of the three remaining banks, whose collective score is minus 4.
“Of those who were obliged to switch banks, 39 per cent found the process easier than expected with 37 per cent saying they felt supported by the bank to which they were switching.” The public’s top financial concerns in 2023 are similar to those they held last year. When asked to identify the issues of most concern to them, 83 per cent of respondents identified rising energy prices, 82 per cent the general cost of living and 79 per cent rising inflation.
While Irish banks have lagged behind euro zone peers in passing on rising European Central Bank interest rates to customers, they have also been slower to raise rates for savers. The ECB has raised its key lending rate from zero to 4 per cent since last July.