Current account holders in SA are paying more than double the global average in bank charges, according to Capgemini, which announced the results of a new benchmarking study yesterday.

The international management consulting and information technology group recently conducted a global study, the World Retail Banking Report 2007, which included SA for the first time. It is being presented to senior executives of local banks and the entire financial services industry. Sim Tshabalala, the CE of Personal and Business Banking at Standard Bank, said the group felt uncomfortable debating the issue given that it was engaged in important dialogue with the competition authorities on the matter. The Jali Commission is probing SA banks on how they charge consumers. The inquiry is also looking into the question on whether bank charges halt competition in the banking sector.
Full report in Business Report
World Retail Banking Report 2007 summary

Leading financial commentator Ann Crotty notes an occasional ‘palpable sense of antagonism between the panel members and the major banks’ at the Competition Commission’s inquiry. She notes in a Business Report commentary that It is normally accompanied by a reminder from one of the squadrons of lawyers advising the banks that this is a voluntary process, that the banks are here voluntarily to assist the competition authorities in their quest to establish where there is an effective competition in the banking sector. Crotty adds that although these occasions are not too frequent, ‘they are frequent enough to allow SA consumers to take comfort from the realisation that the outcome of this comprehensive investigation will not be dominated by the banks’ perspective and is likely to be extremely robust'.
Full report in Business Report