Fees are rising rapidly: bank customers suddenly have to dig into their pockets

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Bad news for bank customers and investors: Financial services fees were increased by almost 7 percent in August! They rose for the first time since May and more than any other product group, as the consumer price index from comparison service Comparis showed.

What is particularly shocking is that after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) increased interest rates, the excuses of financial institutions, namely the difficult conditions resulting from low interest rates, disappeared. “A decrease would be expected,” says Compareis financial expert Dirk Renkert (58).

Especially investors need to dig deep into their pockets

Especially in the investment business, clients have to dig into their pockets significantly more: According to figures from the Federal Statistical Office (BFS), fees here have been increased by an average of 11.6 percent. “In this way, financial institutions gain a financial advantage by delaying the transfer of savings interest, as well as a significant increase in bank fees,” says Renkert.

The Comparis consumer price index, prepared in collaboration with the Center for Economic Research (KOF) at ETH Zurich, shows perceived inflation in Switzerland on a monthly basis. For this purpose, only price developments of regularly consumed goods such as food, medicine and clothing are taken into account. Unlike the BFS’s national consumer price index (CPI), rents or other durable goods are not taken into account.

Driving and flying are significantly cheaper

Children’s clothing (plus 5.4 percent), fuel (plus 4.9 percent), white wine (plus 4.4 percent) and clothing accessories (plus 4.1 percent) also became more expensive in August. In private transportation, things went wrong: prices there fell by 17.9 percent. As Comparis reported, prices for private transportation such as rental cars alone fell by half after the holiday season. However, other expenses such as parking fees or private vehicle and driving school fees remained unchanged.

The air transport and non-hotel sectors also felt the effects of the end of the holiday: they became cheaper by 6.9 percent and 3.7 percent respectively. Overall, this leads to a 0.5 percent decrease in prices compared to July. Perceived inflation in Switzerland peaked in the middle of the year, as it did last year.

At that time, the consumer price index fell until December, then prices rose significantly again at the beginning of 2023. That means last month it was still 1.6 percent higher than in August the previous year. According to Comparis, single-person households and low-income people, especially those aged 65 and over, are negatively affected by the price increase. Compared to the EU, where prices rose by 5.3 percent in the same period, Switzerland is still doing well.

Source :Blick