News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Average bank charges in Israel fell 9.5 percent to NIS 16.1 per month since legislation was introduced a year ago, Supervisor of Banks Rony Hizkiyahu told the Knesset Economics Committee Tuesday. He said the aim of the reform was to encourage wise consumerism among the public. "We're still not there and we have some way to go."

According to figures presented by Hizkiyahu, First International Bank of Israel was the most expensive bank charging an average of NIS 23 per month. Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi, which together account for 70 percent of bank customers, posted an average monthly charge of NIS 14.6, down from NIS 18.8 before the law went into effect. Following the reform, average spending on banking services is lower in Israel than the global average.