"I applaud the initiative of Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) to offset debit interest with credit interest. This is an important measure to encourage competition in the banking system," Supervisor of Banks Rony Hizkiyahu today told a special session of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee to discuss household bank fees.
Hizkiyahu added, "I don’t know of any such initiative by any other bank, but it's clear that when Bank Hapoalim does something like this, no other bank can remain indifferent. I believe that some banks will join this initiative and adopt it, while other banks will initiate other measures."
Economics Committee chairman MK Ophir Akonis (Likud) said, "There has been a gradual drop in households' spending on bank fees. I hope that this decline will continue, and I advise the other banks to adopt measures similar to that of Bank Hapoalim."
The biannual report on household bank fees states that the drop in fees is continuing. The fee for teller-based services fell 22% in real terms in the two years since July 2008, as competition between banks over prices intensified.
Hizkiyahu warned, however, "The variation in banks' service charges continues."
The Bank of Israel said that, in the past 18 months, fees on services for checking accounts fell by 8.5% in real terms.
Bank Yahav for Government Employees Ltd. has the cheapest fees for common checking account services, which are considerably less than for other banks. Among the big five banks, Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) is the cheapest for these fees, while First International Bank of Israel (TASE: FTIN1;FTIN5) is the most expensive.
Among domestic credit cards, Israel Credit Cards-Cal Ltd. (ICC-Cal) (Visa) issued by Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) is the most expensive.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 28, 2010
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