To view full Report

The Supervisor of Banks, David Zaken, today (January 2, 2014) presented the Semiannual Report on Households' Banking Service Fees to the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee. The report is based on reports by the banks and credit card companies of actual revenue from fees they collected in the first half of 2013.


The main points of the report:

· During the first half of 2013, the average monthly cost for a current account for households in the banking system, based on a standard activity profile, totaled approximately NIS 13.9, a decline of about 2.6 percent from the full year of 2012.


A comparison by a standard activity profile in a current account (teller-executed and customer-executed transactions) reveals wide variance among the banks:

o In the banking system at large, Bank Yahav is the least expensive (with a monthly cost of approximately NIS 6.1) by a significant margin. At the other extreme, Mercantile Bank (with a monthly cost of approximately NIS 21.4) and Arab-Israel Bank (with a monthly cost of approximately NIS 19.5) are the most expensive.

o Among the five major banks, Bank Hapoalim is the least expensive (monthly cost of approximately NIS 12.0) and First International Bank is the most expensive (monthly cost of approximately NIS 16.2).

· In the first half of 2013, the average actual monthly expenditure for common current account services for households in the banking system amounted to approximately NIS 13.5, a decline of about 2.3 percent compared with the full year of 2012.


Comparison between banks:

· In the banking system at large, the average monthly expenditure for an account at Bank Yahav is the least expensive (approximately NIS 2.7), while it is most expensive at Poaley Agudat Israel (PAGI) (approximately NIS 25.3).

· Among the five major banks, the average monthly expenditure for an account is least expensive at Discount Bank (approximately NIS 12.7), and most expensive at First International Bank (approximately NIS 16.8).

· During the first half of 2013, the average actual monthly expenditure of holding a domestic, international, or gold credit card in the banking system amounted to approximately NIS 6.8, similar to the full year of 2012.

Wide variance was also seen in relation to the actual fees for holding a credit card: In terms of the average monthly cost per card for holding a domestic, international, or gold card, Isracard was least expensive (approximately NIS 4.7) and ICC-Cal (Cartisey Ashrai Le'Israel) was the most expensive (approximately NIS 9.5).

Developments after June 30, 2013:

· On August 1, 2013, Arab-Israel Bank reduced its customer-executed transaction fee from NIS 1.95 per transaction to NIS 1.65 per transaction.

· On April 1, 2014, an amendment to the Banking (Customer Service) (Fees) Regulations, 5768-2008, regarding service tracks (uniform baskets), is expected to come into effect.

The Bank of Israel urges the public to examine and compare the terms offered by the various banks and has made a variety of tools available to consumers on its website, including savings tips, calculators, and comparative tables:

http://www.boi.org.il//en/ConsumerInformation/Pages/Default.aspx

Excluding the Bank of Jerusalem and U-Bank.
A profile of monthly activity for an active household account, based on 10 customer-executed transactions and 0.7 teller-executed transactions. It excludes completion to a minimum fee, since there are many customers who are exempt from this fee. See also footnote 6.
Bank Yahav data is based on its December 31st, 2012 report.
Common current account services for households are teller-executed transactions, customer-executed transactions, completion to a minimum fee, and granting of credit.
distributed by