Antitrust Authority director general Ronit Kan today notified the five big banks that she will give them the main findings of her probe into suspected price-fixing of bank fees. A civil suit has been filed against the banks on the matter. The banks are Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI; LSE:80OA), Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI), Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT), Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF), and First International Bank of Israel (TASE: FTIN1;FTIN5).
Kan told the banks that she was acting in accordance with a recent High Court of Justice ruling requiring the State Prosecutor to provide respondents with the main findings against them, even though the case was not a criminal one.
So far, the banks have received general material and the findings of the Antitrust Authority's investigation for the hearing that Kan will hold. Kan will now send the banks the main facts attributed to each bank for which she is considering issuing a statement of claim.
The Antitrust Authority opened the investigation into the bank fees three and half years ago. It is the longest and most complicated investigation ever undertaken by the Antitrust Authority. During the investigation, the Antitrust Authority raided the banks' headquarters and seized huge quantities of documents and computer material. The investigation focused on suspicions of price fixing in all banking areas: fees, interest, credit cards, and other subsidiaries. One of the triggers for the investigation was suspicion that the banks colluded in the granting of credit to local authorities.
No evidence of price-fixing was found during the lengthy investigation, which led the Antitrust Authority to conclude that no criminal case could be made for violation of the Restraint of Trade Law. However, prime facie evidence was found that senior banking officials disclosed information about current and future fees and policies.
The regulator investigated, among other things, how fees were set and collected, the size of transactions for which fees were collected, and the terms for exemptions on fees.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 17, 2008
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