According to CECA data, bank fees barely represent 0.6% of total banking assets in Spain.

In this life, almost nothing is free. It sounds very obvious, but all sectors of the economy, without exception, charge for services rendered. However, the name given to this remuneration often differs according to the sector and the type of service. We only have to examine some of our recurrent expenditures to see for ourselves.

When, for example, we subscribe to an online TV platform, we say that we pay a monthly fee. When we refer to the payment we make to the city council for the rubbish collection service or IBI, we use the term tax. The same happens when we obtain a national identity card or renew a driving licence. If, on the other hand, we engage the services of a lawyer or go to a notary's office, we pay professional fees, which are the rates established by these professionals for performing a certain task.

This is exactly the same in banking. Like any service provider, credit institutions charge a price for the work they provide to their customers. They do so when managing an account, issuing a credit card, exchanging currency, analysing the feasibility of a loan or arranging a transfer. In the banking sector, this payment is called a fee.

Regardless of terminology, what is important to understand is that a fee is an amount - which can be fixed, or a percentage, and one-off or recurring - that customers must always pay for the requested service. In Spain, bank fees barely represent 0.6% of total banking assets. "If we look at the fees charged by our banks for cash withdrawals, transfers or current account maintenance, we see that they are clearly below the European average", says CECA spokesperson Alberto Aza. This banking association represents nine financial institutions (CaixaBank, Kutxabank and Cajasur Banco, Abanca, Unicaja Banco, Ibercaja Banco, Caixa Ontinyent, Colonya Pollença and Cecabank).

Fee income accounts for 26% of total gross income in Spanish banks. This figure is a far cry from the 41% in Italy and Germany, 36% for banks in France or 34% for the banking sector in Belgium and Austria.

CECA insists that fees help to maintain and improve the services provided by banks. For example, account maintenance fees help to cover the costs of technological infrastructures, customer service staff or to finance the investments needed to ensure the security of banking operations and the protection of users' data.

Each bank is free to set the amount of the fee it considers appropriate - except for those that are clearly limited by a regulation, such as the early cancellation of a mortgage or a consumer loan -, based on different considerations, which may be related to business or commercial strategy. One of the most common criteria, as is the case in many other sectors, may be the degree of customer loyalty to their financial institution.

In our country, for example, banks do not charge maintenance fees to their most loyal customers. Nor did banks charge for debit cash withdrawals at any national ATM during the state of emergency declared in Spain due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there are indeed differences in the fees that banks charge for their products. "This happens because our banking sector is one of the most competitive in Europe, and this ensures that users can choose the best service at the best price", says Alberto Aza.

In fact, the Bank of Spain cannot refuse or limit the amount of bank fees. The regulator does point out that financial institutions must publish, both on their websites and in their commercial establishments, all information on the fees they apply to the services they provide to their customers. The institution also insists that the bank is obliged to inform the user about the fee before charging it, and that the user must expressly or tacitly accept said fee. To avoid surprises, it is best to seek advice from your personal account manager before acquiring any financial product. And in any case, bear in mind that fees must always relate to services rendered that have been requested or accepted.