The opinion was submitted to the Restraint of Trade Tribunal by the Haifa Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber of Commerce for Haifa and the North claims in the Restraint of Trade Tribunal that approval of the binding agreement preventing the banks from opening branches on Fridays will significantly harm the public clientele. The Chamber of Commerce submitted a legal opinion by Prof. Nahum Bigger, which supports this position.
According to the opinion, clients will be caused $240-300 million in damage annually, due to the closure and the plan not to acknowledge deposits on Fridays for the purpose of value.
Bigger rejected bank claims of losses of NIS 700 million, if they are forced to open branches on Fridays. According to him, the estimate of increased costs the banks noted is exaggerated as it is based on the unrealistic assumption that the volume of business on Fridays will be identical to that on other days of the week.