Israel's competition watchdog sought more data on Sunday from the country's banks relating to an investigation, saying they were enjoying huge profits from higher interest rates on loans but weren't adequately sharing the benefits with customers.
In a bid to rein in inflation, the Bank of Israel last week raised its benchmark interest rate by another 25 basis points to a 2006 high of 4.75 per cent, its 10th straight hike of the key rate that stood at 0.1 per cent last April.
Mortgage and loan payments, often tied to both inflation and the central bank's rate, have in turn jumped. This has caused anger among the public even as it has meant record profits for banks and sizeable dividends for their shareholders.Banks have been slow to pass on the benefits of higher rates to customer deposits, the Competition Authority said.
The Competition Authority, formerly the anti-trust authority, said it had launched the investigation in 2022 when interest rates were starting to rise, and based on preliminarily results, it asked banks last week to provide more data. It declined to provide details on any possible disciplinary action.
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