No Price Increase: Erste Bank Abandons Fee Hike

Erste Bank announced today that it is abandoning the announced fee increases in its dealings with citizens. At the same time, the announced fee reductions, which relate, among other things, to cross-border and international transfers as well as direct SEPA debits, along with changes in the way certain fees are displayed from percentage to absolute amounts, will remain in effect and will be applied from April 1, 2025, the bank stated.

– Although there is still a justified market basis for certain fee corrections, in the form of rising input costs, we are aware of the objective circumstances and the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens to bear the burden of rising living costs. For this reason, we made this decision and sought to contribute to alleviating current price pressures, said Katarina Kraljević, a member of the Management Board of Erste Bank.

– Erste Bank will continue to act responsibly in its operations and will always take into account actual costs when determining the prices of its products and services, applying an approach that respects the needs and interests of its clients, especially in the segment of sensitive target groups. Furthermore, the bank is strongly oriented towards market principles in its long-term operations and achieving quality business results in healthy market competition, they added.

Many media outlets reported earlier this year that banks are entering a new wave of fee increases this year, with Zagrebačka Banka introducing new fee prices on the first day of this year, while Erste Bank and OTP Bank were set to do so from April 1, and Privredna Banka Zagreb was to start with new increases from May 1. Erste has now abandoned the fee increase, raising the question of what other banks will do.

The issue of bank fees has been a current topic in recent times, and in this regard, EY Croatia recently conducted a detailed analysis of the current state and level of the most common bank fees in 10 European Union countries, including Croatia. The analysis provided insight into the amounts of fees for the most representative bank services, taking into account banks that together make up more than 50 percent of the market share by asset amount in each of the countries included in the analysis. In addition to Croatia, the analysis covered banks operating in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

In Croatia, fees are among the cheapest in the EU

Analyzing publicly available data on bank websites, the research showed that the average fee for account maintenance, which includes the fee for mobile banking, is among the cheapest in Croatia, amounting to 2.97 euros. The fee for the same service, for example, in Austria is 4.49 euros, while in Hungary it is 3.07 euros and in Slovenia 3.31 euros. Among the analyzed countries, users in the Czech Republic pay the lowest amount for the mentioned service, which is 0.85 euros, according to the statement.

– The analysis found that banks in Croatia often have more transparent fee tariffs, which are easily accessible to clients and usually all fees are listed in one document. On the other hand, banks in other countries often do not have fees published in one place, but each type of account or service category has its own separate tariff, which can lead to additional confusion for clients when studying tariffs. It should be emphasized that the goal of this analysis was to identify differences and similarities in bank fees in different EU member states, with the intention of enabling clients to better understand the costs associated with banking services, said Maja Šuber, a partner in the Business Consulting Department at EY Croatia.

The analysis of banks in all 10 countries found that all of them offer their users a basic account service. It should be noted that there are two types of basic accounts – one for the social category of consumers and one for other consumers. The fee for maintaining a basic account for the social category of consumers in Croatia is generally not charged, while the fee for maintaining a basic account for other consumers is minimal. In some analyzed EU countries, fees are charged for both types of basic accounts. For example, in Belgium, the average fee for a basic account for the social category of consumers is 1.40 euros, in Slovenia 1.47 euros, in Austria 2.99 euros, in Germany 3.84 euros, while in Croatia the average fee for the same type of account is 0.04 euros.

– By analyzing the fee tariffs of banks in different countries and comparing them with the fees of Croatian banks, we can conclude that all banks charge fees for their services. It has been observed that certain fees in the observed EU member states are more expensive than in Croatia. However, there are also countries where certain fees are more favorable, while at the same time in those same countries other fees are significantly more expensive. Based on the results of the analysis, clients are advised to carefully compare the fees of different banks, focusing on the fees for the services they use most frequently, concluded Maja Šuber.