Market Studies
Retail financial services study
Findings in the 1st Scoreboard led to a study of retail financial services (2009).
It analysed the fees of current accounts in EU Member States, using publicly available information from financial institutions' websites or leaflets.
Findings:
- The fee structures of current accounts are often opaque. Almost a third of consumers surveyed were unable to compare current account offers.
- Consumers in countries with opaque price structures are likely to pay more for bank accounts.
- Consumers pay considerably more for current accounts in some countries: from as high as € 253 in Italy to as low as €27 in Bulgaria.
- Austria , France, Italy and Spain score poorly on transparency and are among the most expensive countries for banking services.
- Bulgaria , the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal rank low for current account prices.