Banks must be fair to their customers while monitoring their profitability, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said.
He agreed that "the more competition, whether from An Post, the credit unions of which most people are members, the Bank of Scotland or any of the other financial services, the better it is for the customer".
But he said: "I get a sense of satisfaction from seeing AIB or any Irish company where over half its profits . . . were gained on the international market. One of our companies is able to be out there competing in that market."
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte criticised AIB, which yesterday reported a profit of €1.7 billion for 2005. Mr Rabbitte said this was "excessive profit-taking" in the Irish economy. "Hundreds of thousands of ordinary bank customers are being milked in order to contribute to excessive profits," he said.
He also expressed concern about debt levels.
Mr Ahern agreed that "you can go to the bank to cash a cheque and end up being offered a car loan", but he said that the saving ratios in the country are higher than they have been at any time in the past 25 years.
