Member State Policies for Ensuring Access to a Basic Bank Account Sample Clauses

Member State Policies for Ensuring Access to a Basic Bank Account. The ways in which individual EU Member States address the issues of financial exclusion by banks differ greatly. In some Member States banks are bound by law to make Basic Bank Accounts available to those who would otherwise be financially excluded (e.g. Belgium, Finland, France, Sweden, and Denmark). Banking industries in other EU Member States have signed up to voluntary charters, either addressing in particular the issue of financial exclusion (such as Germany) or adhering to a more general code of ethics (such as Hungary). Some countries are completely devoid of either legal obligations or voluntary charters (e.g. Austria, Spain). For example, the Czech national bank asserts the right of a credit institution to choose its clients in accordance with its business plan. We understand that Slovakia has recently introduced a statutory Basic Bank Account. While it is the case that all countries with legislative frameworks for a Basic Bank Account have high levels of bank account penetration, some of the countries without legislation or guidance charters in this respect do provide useful examples of successful private sector solutions. For instance, there is no legal obligation in Spain to provide basic banking services to any applicant. Financial exclusion however remains low on the political agenda, since the financial sector is considered highly competitive and includes wide & competitive access to financial services. Spanish savings banks offer banking products specifically designed for vulnerable groups. They have ties with communities and support social, cultural and educational projects.46 Another example is Austria. Here, no specific legislation to tackle financial exclusion exists. Private individuals have no automatic right to a bank account, and while most banks exclude certain groups of prospective customers, a few have voluntarily developed schemes aimed at the socially weak and over-indebted. The table below shows a summary of the position in each country, based on the information derived from the country fiches.