Belgium’s Finance Minister, Vincent Van Peteghem, has asked for an investigation into potential non-compliance with competition rules by banks over savings accounts’ interest rates.
For weeks, political pressure has been mounting on the banking sector to increase the interest rates on savings accounts, reflecting the rise in the key rates of the European Central Bank.
The National Bank has however expressed its disapproval of a law that would automatically link the savings account rates to those of the ECB, following a request for an opinion from the government.
On 25 May, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, the Economy Minister, proposed initiating a competition authority inquiry.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also hinted earlier in the week that the government would intervene if the banks failed to “make the market work”.
Notably, one of Belgium’s major banks, Belfius, announced a hike in its savings rate on Wednesday.
