While bank rates seem to have paused for the past two years, they are becoming increasingly opaque. The UFC Que Choisir took advantage of the publication of the figures from the Financial Sector Advisory Committee (CCSF) this morning to denounce "the illegibility of bank rates" which, in its view, constitutes "betrayal by the banks of their commitments".
“The banks have abandoned the commitments they had made regarding the transparency of their fee schedules. The new brochures no longer meet the standards set in 2010 and which had hitherto been fully respected, " deplores Mathieu Robin, bank project manager at UFC Que Choisir.
Consumer associations had obtained from banks in 2010 that they make their prices more legible, by presenting in their brochure, a summary table of the fees applied. This is the standard extract from the tariffs (EST). However, since October, the French banking federation has authorized banking establishments to replace it with another document, the Tariff Information Document, imposed at European level in application of the "Payment Account" directive. Questioned by Le Figaro, the French Banking Federation did not answer our questions on the subject.
No less than 410 tariffs
However, this new document “draws heavily on” the old standard extract of the tariffs, indicates the advisory committee of the financial sector (CCSF) at the time of the publication of its annual study. Nearly 96 establishments (88% of the panel) kept this table "within their price list, in addition to the publication of the DIT ", indicates the CCSF. in
For the UFC that to choose, these changes affect consumer understanding. Over a third (36%) of professionals took advantage of these changes to overload their customers with information by detailing each of their banking packages. BNP Paribas' brochure therefore includes no less than 410 tariffs, those of Société Générale cover 51 pages, the association says.
“The banks' decision to unilaterally renounce their commitment to price transparency constitutes a double snub. Above all for consumers who were used to the standard extract of rates and who could be plunged into the obscurity of the brochures again, " warns the UFC that Choisir in its press release. The association wishes to impose the legibility of brochures in the law "this decision recalls that self-regulation is illusory" .
The subject is tense. Almost 14% of referrals to the mediator of the French Banking Federation related to the clarity of rates in 2019. This is the third subject of litigation behind bank fraud and payment incidents. Bank charges represented 25 billion euros in 2018, that is 32% of the retail banking activity in France according to a 2019 Standard & Poor study.
