THE COUNTRY'S two largest banks have increased banking fees on customers making withdrawals and depositing money in their savings accounts by 115 per cent over a four-year period.

In a survey carried out by the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC), the National Commercial Bank (NCB) and the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) hiked fees in the two categories between 2009 and 2013.

The fees at the two institutions jumped from $100 to $215 over the period under review.

At the FirstCaribbean Inter-national Bank (FCIB), withdrawing from savings accounts skyrocketed by 129 per cent in four years, moving from $70 in 2009 to $160 in 2013.

Withdrawing money from savings accounts at the Royal Bank (Jamaica) Limited (RBCJ) increased by 100 per cent, from free in 2009 to $175 in 2013.

However, depositing money in savings accounts at RBCJ was free of charge.

In the case of First Global Bank, depositing and withdrawing funds from savings account were free of charge.

presentation to Parliament

The CAC is scheduled to make a presentation to the Economy and Production Committee of Parliament on the Bank of Jamaica's interim report on bank fees.

In January 2014, the CAC conducted an independent analysis of the revenue of four commercial banks which had published their audited financial statements on their respective websites. The banks are NCB, BNS, FGB and FCIB.

The CAC reported that the income from fees and commissions for the four banks increased over the period 2009 to 2013.

Specifically, for NCB, income from fees and commission represented 18 per cent of gross income in 2009, 20 per cent in 2010 and 21 per cent in 2013. For BNS, it represented 11 per cent in 2009, 14 per cent in 2010 and 17 per cent in 2013.