Projet de loi concernant certains services bancaires.
General information ¶
- Submitted by
- PS | SP MR Open Vld Vooruit Purple Ⅰ
- Submission date
- March 13, 2007
- Official page
- Visit
- Status
- Adopted
- Requirement
- Simple
- Subjects
- bank banking bank deposit bank charges competition financial institution free service
Voting ¶
- Voted to adopt
- Vooruit Ecolo LE PS | SP Open Vld MR
Party dissidents ¶
- Ingrid Meeus (Open Vld) voted to adopt.
- Ingrid Meeus (Open Vld) voted to adopt.
Contact form ¶
Do you have a question or request regarding this proposition? Select the most appropriate option for your request and I will get back to you shortly.
Discussion ¶
April 19, 2007 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)
Full source
Rapporteur Magda De Meyer ⚙
The committee met on 21 and 28 March on this draft. The Minister held an introductory presentation to emphasize that the possibility of changing bank is an important factor in the competition between the banks and that the administrative burden or closing costs must absolutely be pressed.
The first step was already taken through the gentlemen’s agreement with the banks to reduce the administrative burden. With this design, the obstacle to closure costs is now also taken away.
During the general discussion, Ms. Ghenne of the PS referred to a bill in the Senate calling for free closure of visitor accounts at credit institutions. However, it could fully support the proposed draft, which has a wider scope of application compared to the bill submitted to the Senate.
Mrs Creyf referred to the European draft directive, which is in the final stage, and found that the Minister’s draft goes beyond what is stated in the directive. The directive stipulates that certain so-called reasonable costs can still be charged. She wondered why Belgium wanted to go further.
Another point in the Directive was that a maximum notice period of one month could be respected when closing a savings account. Also there, Mrs. Creyf wondered why Belgium goes beyond the EU directive.
The present draft is, in my opinion, a beautiful follow-up to the Master Agreement and by going beyond the European Directive we confirm our good reputation in the field of consumer protection.
The Minister replied that the European directive indeed sets a standard, but that it is up to each Member State to move further. Some banks still charge certain fees when closing an account, which can reach up to 20 euros. It is very important to make this completely free of charge in order to increase mobility between banks.
As regards the notice period, if a consumer resigns quickly, he may have good reasons for it. According to the Minister, it was perfectly logical that if a customer has paid in advance for the use of a sight or savings account, he or she can recover the amount paid in excess upon cancellation.
Finally, the committee voted. The draft was adopted with eight votes for and three abstentions.