Why was the Irish currency called a "Punt"?

Because it rhymes with "bank manager".

I sent a letter to my bank a few weeks ago:

Gerard Brown
Group General Manager, Corporate Affairs
ANZ Bank
22/100 Queen Street

Melbourne VIC 3000

Dear Sir,

Re: Access account 016-120 XXXX-XXXXX

It should be illegal to charge a customer a $35.00 honor fee for a $7.00 overdraft but I am sure that in Australia's under-regulated banking environment it is not.

It should be illegal to charge a customer an honor fee at all when the transaction in question was a withdrawal from an ANZ account at an ANZ ATM and the bank had the option to simply reject the transaction but I am sure that in Australia's under-regulated banking environment it is not.

When the banks try to justify this under-regulated market the excuse given is that competition will sort it all out so I have to ask...

Do you really think that the above behaviour is good marketing?

Apparently they didn't because they replied saying they had reversed the fee. They could not resist having a go though:

In a commercial environment, businesses charge fees for services provided. Banks are no exception in that they charge fees for the products and services they provide to their customers.

what they fail to mention is that banking in Australia is a government-protected oligopoly. If the government is putting huge barriers in the way of a competitor entering a market (and they are) they should also be requiring the incumbents to keep their fees to the cost of doing business plus a reasonable profit.

The cost of having your computer notice that an account is overdrawn and write a letter could not exceed $1.00. The fee ANZ change for this "service" is $35.00. If the ANZ think that 3400% is a reasonable profit margin then I want to be one of their suppliers, not one of their customers.