Banking watchdog unveils draft limiting banks’ commissions

ISTANBUL

The draft will require banks to inform consumers in case of fee tariff increases that surpass 20 percent.

Turkey’s banking watchdog has announced a draft regulation that immensely expands limitations on the commissions and fees that can be charged by banks.

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) aims to decrease the number of services permitted to charge fees on 60 services to 20, according to the draft regulation model unveiled on Aug. 21.

The lenders will be obliged to receive authorization from the customer for every good and service they might claim fees for.

The draft also requires financial institutions to inform consumers in case of fee tariff increases that surpass 20 percent.  

Customers with more than one account at a bank will also be saved from paying maintenance fees for each of their accounts.

The government, led by President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been publicly slamming private lenders and accusing them of “exploiting the poor” through “unfair means,” mainly referring to commissions and fees.

According to the BDDK data, more than half of Turkish lenders’ revenue in 2013 was earned through banking services provided, as banking service revenues soared by 20 percent to 17 billion Turkish Liras over the year.