Households spend less on bank fees in 2011: RBA

Households payed over $300 million less in bank fees last year compared to 2010 but businesses forked out almost $380 million more during the same period, according to the RBA.

The Reserve Bank's annual report on domestic banking fee income found that lenders had increased their total fee revenue in 2011, a result that surprised some analysts.

Michelle Hutchison, a spokeswoman for financial comparison firm RateCity.com.au, told ninemsn the jump in fee income came as a surprise.

"Lending has slowed and competition increased so a rise to bank fee income was unexpected," she said.

Ms Hutchison said businesses bore the brunt of banking fees while households enjoyed a reprieve.

"Households paid $301 million less than the previous year while businesses paid $379 million more than 2010," she said.

Ms Hutchison said the result could be attributed to government intervention.

"The government regulations which introduced banning of excessive fees or abolishing them altogether on some account types such as transaction accounts and home loans has certainly helped reduce household bank fees," she said.

However, it wasn't all positive for households, which saw credit card fees rise in 2010.

"Credit cards was the only category that increased in bank fee revenue for households, with credit card holders spending $1.3 billion in fees — that’s an extra $50 million than 2010," Ms Hutchison said.

The financial comparison site’s spokeswoman said the best way to avoid paying excessive bank fees was to shop around to find the best deal.

"Households and businesses alike could easily save potentially hundreds of dollars each year by simply comparing their financial products and switching to better value deals that suit their needs," Ms Hutchison said.

RateCity is half-owned by mi9.

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