Current accounts over 100 thousand euros closed by Fineco, here are the commitments with the Antitrust- Corriere.it

The decision to be able to close the current accounts of customers who had an average cash balance equal to or greater than 100,000 euros without any form of investment or financing it had been taken – and communicated – in March. Thus Fineco had also raised in Italy the question of the costs of maxi stocks for banks in an era of negative interest rates (that is, you pay to have the money, not to take it), butAntitrust he then opened an investigation for alleged unfair commercial practice. According to the hypothesis of starting the investigation – the Antitrust note reads – with this contractual amendment FinecoBank could exert pressure on account holders to induce them to subscribe to financial and / or asset management services, however with onerous economic conditions, in order to divert liquidity exceeding 100,000 euros towards forms of financing or investment more profitable for the bank and leaving as the only alternative for customers is to close the current account. However, this is a penalizing alternative for account holders, considering the costs borne by them for transferring the account to another credit institution.

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The closure of the investigation

Now the Competition and Market Authority has closed the preliminary investigation and the sentence has arrived: the Authority has accepted the commitments presented by FinecoBank to resolve this criticism (here the detail on the Authority’s website).

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Prohibition to close accounts for 90 days

First of all, Fineco must make it clear to customers that they will not withdraw from the contract for a period of 90 days from when they are contacted; time available to the customer to choose the solution that best suits their needs among those presented. Furthermore, I will not exercise the withdrawal in the case of account holders without an account in another credit institution, who would suffer to the maximum extent the effects of the termination of the relationship. In the event that the account holders without another current account, following the letter of March, had already made loans or investments, FinecoBank will refund the fees paid for the execution of investment orders and will grant the possibility to repay the loans without charges or penalties.

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The options to offer to customers

What then does the institute headed by Alessandro Foti have to offer to customers with stocks equal to or greater than 100,000 euros? It must objectively and without promotional purposes, illustrate various options to avoid withdrawal. Among these are:
1 the individual re-negotiation of costs current account according to predefined price lists and without discrimination;
2 on free transfer excess stock on any customer accounts in other credit institutions;
3 the use of excess inventory forfree purchase of Italian government bonds, which can be sold free of charge, or for the purchase of financial instruments (shares, bonds, equity investments in Exchange Traded Fund and / or other UCIs) through the Fineco online platform independently or through the support of a financial advisor of the bank.

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Obligation to do financial education

In considering the various options, the credit institution will clarify to customers that they have the right to use these services without having to sign additional contracts or invest in funds or other products and services offered by Fineco or other group companies. Finally, there is also an educational obligation to disseminate financial education: FinecoBank will have to offer customers interactive online courses to increase their knowledge and skills on the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining liquidity on current accounts.

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