News

Argentina caps ATM fee increases

January 18, 2013

In a Durbin-style move, Argentina's central bank is imposing limits on fees charged by retail banks. In this case, the action has been taken to relieve some of the pressure on Argentinians who are in the grip of crushing inflation.

According to a Fox Business report, the limit will apply to ATM fees, credit card ownership costs and a number of other charges. Banks had hoped to raise these charges by 25 percent.

In a statement, the central bank said the restrictions will help keep Argentina competitive with other economies and coax members of the country's cash-based underground economy to move their money into banks.

However, the report said, banks are concerned that the limits will threaten their profitability, which could have a negative effect on the country's ability to attract and keep foreign bank subsidiaries.

Argentina's inflation rate has been running at about 25 percent per year and seems set to continue that trend in 2013, economists have said. This rise is accompanied by a decline of about 50 percent in the country's growth rate, which had been steaming along at about 7 percent until last year.

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