Isle of Man Bank's charges for charities criticised by Tynwald

Isle of Man Bank closed two of its branches, including one in Peel, in Janauary

A bank's plans to charge charities for basic services has been criticised in the Isle of Man's parliament.

Isle of Man Bank announced that all organisations will face monthly charges for account maintenance and a rise in fees for cheque deposits from 29 May.

Account services are currently provided free of charge to charitable groups.

Politicians backed a motion tasking the Treasury with investigating the creation of new laws to ensure basic services remained free for charities.

Under the planned changes, charities and not-for-profit organisations will be charged £120 a year to hold a business account with the bank.

They also face an increase of £1.90 in the cost of depositing a cheque.

'Neglectful'

When the fee increases were announced last month, the bank said charges could be avoided if transactions were carried out digitally.

The closure of two Isle of Man Bank branches due to a lack of footfall sparked protests last year.

Juan Watterson SHK told Tynwald members the bank, which is part of the RBSI group, was "so neglectful of the society whose name it bares that it no longer seems worthy of the name Isle of Man".

Urging members to back the motion, he said: "When people put their money into a collection bucket they expect it go into the charity's front line and not a bank's bottom line."

Lawrie Hooper MHK, who successfully moved an amendment to include all not-for-profit groups in the motion, described the rise in charges as "obscene".

Mr Hooper will ask the House of Keys to support introducing a new bill that would ensure the services would be provided free of charge by all banks on Tuesday.