A European Commission report has said that many EU banks confuse customers with opaque fees, unsuitable advice and difficult procedures.
Presenting a report on retail banking, the Commission warned that unless the banks changed their behaviour it would take up the issue with national governments to enforce EU rules on fair commercial practices.
'Retail bankers are letting consumers down. There is widespread evidence that basic consumer principles are being violated,' Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said in a statement.
The report, which analysed 224 financial institutions covering some 80% of the market, showed many banks appeared to try to hide charges with complex fee structures that a lot of customers said they found difficult to understand.
Information was often given in legal and financial jargon, important details were hidden in small print and formats were too long without focusing on key features of the product.
For 66% of the banks surveyed, fees, as presented on the internet or on paper, were so unclear that experts needed to contact the institutions for additional information. Bankers selling financial products often provided bad information to customers.
The report was especially critical about banks in Austria, France, Italy and Spain, while those in Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Portugal scored the best.
