A senator proposes to regulate the very controversial bank inheritance fees, or even eliminate them in the event of the closing of an account of less than 5,000 euros without the intervention of the notary. His amendment is examined on Tuesday as part of a bill which aims to strengthen the protection of savers.
A long-term fight for UDI Senator Hervé Maurey. This Tuesday, his amendment aimed at restricting inheritance bank charges is being studied by the Senate as part of a broader project that intends strengthen the protection of savers. The member of the Law Commission, senator for Eure for many years, is convinced that this time will be the right one because he has the support of the majority Les Républicains (LR).
Already in January 2022, Hervé Maurey already explained to MoneyVox wanting to “set the scene” to convince Bercy to follow him. Indeed, if his proposal sees the light of day, it will be up to the government to set the limits of these bank charges by decree. For the moment, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire has remained very discreet on the subject.
“Often unjustified prices”
“Banks take advantage of the fact that no one is watching them when signing a contract to apply often unjustified prices. My bill aims to prevent these practices, ”argues the senator. The amendment proposes to supervise inheritance bank charges by deleting them purely and simply to a lower amount of 5,000 euros in the context of a succession without the intervention of the notary. The chosen one would also like capping these fees at 1% of the total estateregardless of when the full value is.
Banks charge “processing fees” to manage the extinction of the deceased’s accounts. Actions invoiced on average 216 euros for a “small” estate of 15,000 euros, according to calculations by MoneyVox in 2022. An amount down by 8 euros over one year but this typical profile will for example be invoiced 75 euros to Crédit Agricole Nord Is… against 390 euros at Crédit Agricole Languedoc. Or 125 euros at the Caisse d’Epargne Midi-Pyrénées against 273 euros on the side of the Ecureuil in Normandy. A large gap therefore depending on the banks and regions.
Free operations during your lifetime, but paying when you die
To try to explain these tariffs, “the invoicing of certain services which are usually ‘free’ during the customer’s lifetime reinforces doubts about their justification. For example, a quarter of banks charge for the transfer of funds to another establishment, for an average price of 145 euroswhen a client during his lifetime generally pays nothing for this type of operation,” writes Hervé Maurey in the explanatory memorandum to his text.
In 2021, the consumer defense association UFC-Que Choisir also pointed out that inheritance costs “are twice those charged in Belgium or Italy” (respectively 107 euros and 112 euros) and even three times higher than in Spain (80 euros). These are even illegal in Germany.