Fees bank can charge clients reduced

The range and the levels of fees and commissions that local banks can charge retail and commercial clients have been lowered, the Turkish Central Bank and the country's banking watchdog regulator (BDDK) have announced.

The measures will cut the various charges banks can charge financial consumers to 16 from 20, the BDDK said.

Separately, the Central Bank announced that the number of fees that banks can charge their commercial clients for products and services had been reduced to 51 items under a regulation to render fees more transparent.

These fees are offered under four categories in the forms of commercial loans, foreign trade, cash management and payment systems, the bank said. Previously the number of fees had been 2,400.

Under the existing arrangements, the amounts charged by banks "are far from being comparable and might lead to overcharging. Consequently, client complaints have increased significantly," the bank said.

Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak welcomed the move.

"There had been complaints from citizens and businesspeople regarding those charges. The Central Bank and the BDDK have now standardized fees and commissions," Albayrak wrote on Twitter.

"With every step we take, we will continue to prioritize protecting our citizens' interests and lowering their costs," he added.

The minister said they would also reduce the upper limits on electronic fund transfers (EFT) to between 1 ($0.17) and 100 Turkish Liras from 6 to 850 liras.

The BDDK regulations, published in the country's Official Gazette, abolished fees charged to commercial customers for opening and operating accounts.

The fees charged for EFT transactions were reduced, with an upper limit of 1 lira for mobile...