When the bank nails you

The Spanish pay an average of 178 euros a year for having a bank account. They are the Europeans that pay the most for these services after the Italians, whose average rate shoots up to 253 euros. The EU average is 111 euros, according to data released by the European Commission. The country where it costs the least to have a checking account is Bulgaria, whose citizens pay an average of 27 euros per year.

The European Commissioner for Financial Services, Michel Barnier, used the presentation of the data to launch a clear warning to banks. If they do not inform their customers with transparency on commissions incurred for the management of their bank accounts, by law the European Commission shall regulate these charges. The banking sector have until mid-March to submit their proposals to improve transparency.

If the banks do not, "we will take legislative action" with a proposal to regulate the sector, threatened Barnier in a press conference. He wants all European consumers to benefit from "available and comparable information" on these commissions.

The European Commission estimates that the opacity of bank charges keeps some consumers from benefiting from a basic bank account, a service considered essential at a time when the use of hard cash decreases.

That is why they wrote a recommendation for EU member countries to offer access to bank accounts and management fees at "reasonable" prices, defined primarily by the level of national income and consumer price indices.

Community authorities also want consumers to be well informed about the expenses on basic bank accounts and related services to limit invoices. Last year Barnier asked banks to clearly inform customers about the costs of account management. "It's important to end these practices that exclude people from access to this essential basic service," said the commissioner.

Some 30 million people in Europe do not have bank accounts, of which 6 to 7 million don't have one because the banks have refused them from opening one.