The Government has been slugged with bank fees totalling $1.8 million as part of the Royal Commission – a charge the banks say is necessary to cover the administrative costs of participating in the hearings.
The fees are subject to a 42.5% interest rate, with a further $50,000 fee for every day the amount isn’t paid.
Strangely, the Royal Commission was also charged $27,500 for a life insurance product, and a further $18,000 for superannuation advice.
A spokesperson for the banking sector said the fee was in line with current banking practices and represented a fair price for customers. “We’re working hard to keep fees for our customers to a minimum. That’s why we’ve reduced our Royal Commission question-answering fee from $5,000 per question to just $4,500.50 a question this year. It’s our way of saying ‘thanks’ for banking with us,” the spokesperson said.
__________________
Terry Beuler
