This press release as a Word file
On July 15, 2012, the Team to Examine How to Increase Competitiveness in the Banking System (hereinafter, "the team") submitted its interim report, including its principal recommendations for increasing competitiveness, improving the position of households and small businesses, expanding the options available to the customer, and improving service while reducing its cost.
As a complementary measure to issuing the interim report, and in order to increase efficiency and move the formal process forward, the Supervisor of Banks today issued a draft amendment to the Banking Regulations (Service to Customer) (Fees), 5768–2008, which expresses the report's main recommendations regarding fees. The following are the main issues in the amendment:
Recommendations regarding the supervision of fees (page 103 in the report):
· Cancellation of fee for an information card
· Cancellation of fee for cash withdrawal card
· Handling fee for credit and guarantees–increasing the exemption from a maximum of NIS 50,000 to a maximum of NIS 100,000
· Cancellation of fee for changing the payment date on a credit card
· Cancellation of management fee for small businesses
Recommendations regarding fees for Makam and money market funds (page 97 in the report):
· Cancellation of management fee for Makam and money market funds
Recommendations regarding securities-related activities by customers (pages 109-111 in the report):
· Differential pricing of securities activities, depending on how they are carried out
· Maximum fees for purchase and sale of securities
· Cancellation of minimum securities account management fees
· Expanding supervision over securities transfer fees, to the transfer of a customer's account to outside the banking system as well
Additional amendments found necessary during the current work:
· Senior citizens: In order to receive four teller-executed transactions per month at the price of transactions through direct channels, it will no longer be needed to present a senior citizen certificate; reaching the age set by law is sufficient to receive the benefit.
· Publication on banking corporation's website: On the banking corporation's home page, there will be a direct link to the fee schedule, which will be open and accessible to customers.
· Bank guarantees: Setting the legislative basis for the Banking Supervision Department's decision, which went into effect on March 1, 2012, under which a guarantee secured with a cash deposit will be charged a reduced fee.
After completing the process of consultation with the Advisory Committee on Banking Issues, and examining the responses of entities which submitted in writing their position regarding the interim report's recommendations regarding fees, a final version of the regulations will be formulated.