Chile: Banks seek strategy for BancoEstado to lower transfer rates

Chilean banks BICE, Security and Internacional have filed a lawsuit against BancoEstado, Chile’s central bank, for abuse of dominance. Their complaint is focused on the abusive cost of receiving electronic transfers, claiming that the state entity charged them a rate three times higher than that charged to the country’s largest banks (Santander, BCI and Banco de Chile).

Meanwhile, larger banks have argued that the fee charged by BancoEstado is also higher than it should have been. In fact, they even analyzed the possibility of filing a parallel claim against the entity before the Free Competition Defense Tribunal (TDLC).

BancoEstado has justified its rates by claiming coverage considerations. The bank’s Executive Committee said in a statement, “different rates between banks have existed for decades and were neither requested nor imposed by the State Bank.” It added that “it is common within the banking sector and the entire economy to differentiate between small and large customers both to pay and to collect.”

Full Content: Pulso

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