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Jens Kalaene / DPA
The fees charged by banks and savings banks have risen above average in recent years.
From October 2019 to October 2020 alone, prices climbed by an average of 6.4 percent, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
In 2019, the prices for bank or savings bank services had already increased by 4.7 percent compared to the previous year.
According to statistics, the price development for private account management is also "noticeable" in the medium and long term: from 2010 to 2014 prices fell by more than a quarter (27.9 percent), mainly due to the elimination of processing fees for personal loans, and then rose since 2015 continuously on again.
According to statistics, these price increases totaled 25 percent from 2015 to 2019.
Branch network, infrastructure and staff financed through fees
The interplay of the two effects puts the price increase into perspective over a longer period of time, however: Compared to 2010, prices fell by 8.2 percent in 2019, as the statisticians emphasized.
The banks explain the massive price increases in recent years with a lack of income from deposits, financial products and loans.
In the past, banks could have cross-subsidized retail banking with this income.
In the meantime, they would have to finance the costs for the branch network, infrastructure and staff through account management fees.
When calculating the price development for the private checking account, the statisticians took into account various fees such as basic fees, transfers, standing orders, cash withdrawals, credit cards, bank statements and the like.
In addition, they observed the prices for private securities trading and the private securities account.
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