Tokyo

Some banks in Japan are charging more commissions as a way to cover plunges in revenues, with industry leader MUFG Bank considering charging maintenance fees for inactive accounts.

The moves reflect a tougher business environment amid prolonged low interest rates as well as rises in labor costs and costs to prevent money laundering.

Gaps between lending rates and deposit rates have shrunk due to the negative interest rate policy of the Bank of Japan, which reduced bank revenues on lending. Costs to manage accounts and to monitor them to prevent fraudulent deposits and withdrawals have also risen.

Mizuho Bank raised its fees for over-the-counter money transfers by 100-200 yen to 400-900 yen in November. The bank also plans to increase fees for such transactions using automated teller machines next year.

In December, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. started charging customers commissions for deposits of 301 or more coins over the counter. MUFG Bank is mulling an annual fee of 1,200 yen for accounts showing no transactions for two years, officials said.

Predecessors for such moves include Resona Bank, Juroku Bank and Okazaki Shinkin Bank. But they are still a minority in a country where people have a common perception that air and bank accounts are meant to be free, industry watchers say.

Meanwhile, simply charging a toll on depositors would meet a public backlash. A senior official of the Financial Services Agency suggested that customers will not be convinced if they are just told that the bank is taking more money because it is having a difficult time, without improving service.

Banks charging more commissions will need to provide new value, such as improved services driven by information technology, analysts say.

Jiji Press