Bank charges decision overdue

A month after saying a decision was "imminent", the Office for Fair Competition has still to announce its decision in connection with the introduction of bank charges by HSBC last year.

The results of an inquiry were expected to be announced by mid-July but were then delayed to mid-August.

The Malta Financial Services Authority last year requested the office to investigate HSBC's decision to impose a 75c charge on handling pension cheques issued by the Central Bank.

It also requested the office to investigate a Lm4 administration fee imposed by HSBC if the average of the combined balances of an account holder's savings and current accounts did not exceed Lm75.