Finance Minister Brunner: “The banks are challenged”

Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (VP) reacted to the OÖ Nachrichten on Wednesday. “The interest rate gap is a real problem. It is to be welcomed that Johannes Rauch, as Minister for Consumer Protection, is also taking on the issue,” says Brunner: “But such procedures often take years. Concrete and rapid solutions are now needed in the interests of the people who ensure that loans remain affordable and that the higher interest rates are passed on to savers. This is where the banks come into play.” For the time being, Brunner left it open what exactly the banks should do and whether the demand relates to the entire interest business.

The Association for Consumer Information (VKI) has filed a class action lawsuit against the industry. Consumer Protection Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) reported on Tuesday that he had commissioned the VKI to do this. It’s about salary accounts where debit interest for overdrafts is currently between 6.75 and 13.25 percent, while credit interest is zero to 0.1 percent. Rauch accuses the banks of “unfair practices”.

In the banks section of the Chamber of Commerce, the current developments were discussed on Wednesday. Division manager Franz Rudorfer said to the OÖN: “We don’t know about the lawsuit yet.” It’s not true that Bank Austria didn’t even react. “On July 7, she sent a comprehensive statement to the VKI, from which nothing has been heard since then,” said Rudorfer.