Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
185. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he has assessed the impact of reduced competition in the retail banking sector following recent exits; the measures being considered to encourage new entrants or alternative banking models; his views on the way to ensure consumer choice and competitive pricing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69883/25]
View answerPrimary responsibility for competition policy rests with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is the statutory body responsible for promoting compliance with, and enforcing, competition and consumer protection law in Ireland.
In addition to the work of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, reviews have been carried out to ensure that the Irish banking and financial services sector remains competitive.
My Department has published two such reviews in recent years: the Retail Banking Review in November 2022 and the Report of the Funds Sector 2030 in October 2024.
Competition was one area of focus under the Retail Banking Review. One of the conclusions of the Review in this regard was that, despite the level of concentration in the market following the exits of Ulster Bank and KBC, and subject to continued strong regulatory oversight, sufficient competition will remain in the short to medium term.
The review recommended that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Central Bank of Ireland build on existing arrangements and establish closer coordination to share perspectives, information and experience on the orderly functioning of markets, consumer protection and competition in the retail banking sector.
Following this, in March 2025 the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission entered into a revised co-operation agreement with the Central Bank of Ireland.
Another related recommendation was incorporated in the Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure Act 2025. This requires the Central Bank of Ireland to carry out and publish cost-benefit analyses of business standards and regulations it proposes to make in relation to financial service providers. Any cost benefit analysis will have to consider the impact of standards or regulations, on consumers, and on fair competition.
I would also highlight the changes to recent changes to the Credit Union Act to help facilitate the sector to play a greater role in the provision of retail banking products and services. Further the Central Bank has amended credit union lending limits enable the sector lend more for mortgages and to businesses. These measures will help increase competition in the banking sector and improve consumer choice of financial provider.
The 2025 Consumer Sentiment Banking Survey was published by my Department in October. These surveys are helpful to identify trends in consumer behaviour; including product choice, competition and innovation, which in turn feeds into evidence-based policy making.
More recently new entrants have emerged in the context of the Irish banking market, including the establishment of a new Irish branch, Avant Money, by Bankinter and the recent announcement by Monzo Bank to offer retail banking products and services via its Irish based EU headquarters.
The 2025 Consumer Sentiment Banking Survey, also noted that 66% of customers in Ireland now have more than one financial provider. These include a number of digital-only banks that offer a range of financial products and services to consumers in Ireland.
At a European level, the drive to simplify regulation and reduce administrative burdens to increase competitiveness has been incorporated into many different workstreams and these processes can assist in improving the wider competitiveness of the sector.
