French banks agreed on Tuesday to clearly explain charges on monthly bank statements from mid-2011, a move that Economy Minister Christine Lagarde hailed as a step towards reducing "elevated" bank charges. A day after France's competition authority slapped a 385 million euro ($505.6 million) fine on 11 banks for collusion in setting cheque charges, Lagarde said the agreement, reached under the auspices of a joint government-private sector committee, would help foster greater transparency.
"Bank fees are high. They have to come down. I think the agreement undertaken by the banks today - which I hope will take effect as soon as possible - will allow a reduction in bank fees," Lagarde told journalists. Tuesday's agreement will oblige banks to provide clients with a calculation of all bank fees in their monthly statement from June 30, 2011, as well as to state charges more clearly on advertising information. The minister played down Monday's antitrust ruling, which found that banks including BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole colluded in setting fees on 80 percent of cheques circulating in France between January 2002 and July 2007.