Your Bank Fees Stay High: Portugal's Central Bank Won't Cap Them—Here's Why

Portuguese banks can charge whatever they want in fees—and the Central Bank can't stop them. Only Parliament can change that, Governor Álvaro Santos Pereira told lawmakers this week. For residents, that means your monthly maintenance fees, ATM charges, and transfer commissions will remain set by banks themselves, not regulators, unless politicians act.

Speaking at a parliamentary hearing on April 1, 2026, convened by multiple political parties including the Communist Party (PCP), Socialist Party (PS), and Chega, Santos Pereira explained why. "Banks are free to set the products and services they sell, except where law establishes specific prohibitions or limits," he said. "It is not the Central Bank of Portugal that can set limits on commissions. That is for you, the deputies."

The stakes are significant: Portuguese banks generated roughly one-fifth of their revenue from commissions in recent years—a revenue stream the Central Bank oversees but cannot control.

What Fees Are Capped Today?

Law 24/2023, enacted in May 2023, did eliminate or restrict several specific charges—but notably not the fees residents complain about most. Here's what changed:

Fees that are now capped or banned:

• Fees for changing account ownership after divorce or death

• Duplicate statement fees

• Certain loan-processing costs on contracts signed before the end of 2020

• Coin-deposit commissions (capped at 2% of transaction value)

• Mobile-payment app fees for withdrawals, bill payments, and transfers (up to specified thresholds)

Fees that remain largely unregulated:

• Monthly account maintenance fees

• ATM withdrawal charges

• Wire transfer commissions

• Card issuance fees

The law did not impose blanket caps on the most common consumer pain points. By contrast, EU-wide rules under the Payment Accounts Directive (2014/92/EU) focus on transparency and comparability rather than price controls. The Interchange Fee Regulation does cap card-network interchange at 0.2% for debit and 0.3% for credit transactions, but those limits apply to interbank fees, not what consumers pay.

Why This Matters: The Cartel Background

To understand the current stalemate, residents should know the broader context. The "cartel da banca" involved 11 Portuguese banks exchanging commercially sensitive information on loan spreads and volumes between 2002 and 2013. The Portugal Competition Authority (AdC) originally levied fines totaling €225M—€82M against Caixa Geral de Depósitos alone, with Millennium bcp, Santander Totta, and BPI also hit with major penalties.

But in February 2025, the Lisbon Court of Appeal declared the entire case time-barred due to statute-of-limitations rules—a decision Santos Pereira called "unacceptable." The final prescription date fell between September 1, 2023, and February 11, 2024, depending on COVID-19 suspension rules. That legal technicality wiped out €225M in fines, even though Santos Pereira, who served as minister when the whistleblower provision was introduced, confirmed the conduct was "illicit."

The PCP and Chega have since tabled draft laws to extend the statute of limitations on competition fines, aiming to close the loophole. Several implicated banks have argued in 2026 parliamentary hearings that the information-sharing did not harm consumers and may have even lowered spreads.

€65M in Refunds—Understanding What They Cover

Between 2019 and 2025, the Central Bank ordered supervised institutions to reimburse more than €65M in overcharged interest and prohibited or capped commissions. The bulk of that figure—€22M—came in 2024 alone.

A significant portion involved what's called a "penalty-spread clause": when borrowers fell behind on mortgage or loan payments, one unnamed lender illegally applied an additional interest penalty. Inspectors found the lender improperly charged €15.5M in these penalties to borrowers in arrears. If you have a mortgage or consumer loan and fell behind on payments between 2019 and 2025, check your statements to see if penalty spreads were applied—you may be eligible for a refund.

Of the 2024 total, €18.5M related to interest overcharges and €3.5M to illegal commissions. While the refund program demonstrates vigilant supervision, critics note that the sums pale beside the sector's aggregate commission income. Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the state-owned flagship, announced in 2026 that it would hold nominal fees steady, projecting a real-terms reduction of more than 10% between 2023 and 2026 due to inflation—a move that drew praise but fell short of an outright cut.

Legislative Gap: Why Parliament Must Act

Unlike neighboring jurisdictions that impose hard caps on certain fees, Portugal operates under a disclosure-based model: banks must publish their fee schedules, and the Central Bank can order refunds when charges breach existing rules, but it cannot preemptively ban or cap most fees.

Santos Pereira was clear: regulatory authority alone cannot solve this. "We can only censure this and do everything to prevent recurrence," he said. No statutory ceiling exists for most bank fees in Portugal, despite consumer complaints and political outcry. Until lawmakers pass legislation, fee-setting remains a prerogative of the banks themselves—limited only by transparency rules, targeted prohibitions, and the threat of retrospective refunds when supervision catches overreach.

What This Means for You as a Resident

If you hold a Portugal bank account, you cannot rely on the Central Bank to cap what you pay in fees. Here's what you can do:

Compare actively: The Banco de Portugal is overhauling its online fee-comparison tool at www.bportugal.pt (select "Serviços de Pagamento" or "Payment Services"), expanding coverage to savings products and other instruments. Use it before opening an account or switching providers to find the best rates.

Know the law: Certain fees are illegal or capped. If you've been charged for a duplicate statement, account-ownership changes due to death or divorce, or coin deposits above 2%, file a complaint via the Portugal Central Bank's customer portal at www.bportugal.pt/en/complaint or call +351 210 307 000.

Check your mortgage for penalty spreads: If you held a mortgage or consumer loan between 2019 and 2025 and fell behind on payments, review your statements for "penalty-spread" charges. Contact your bank or the Central Bank complaint service if you spot them.

Watch civil suits: Although the administrative cartel case has lapsed, class-action and individual lawsuits for damages remain active. If you held a mortgage, consumer loan, or business credit between 2002 and 2013 at one of the 11 implicated banks (Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Millennium bcp, Santander Totta, BPI, Banco Espírito Santo, CGD, Montepio, Crédito Agrícola, Banco Popular, Banco Invest, or BES), you may still have grounds to claim compensation for inflated spreads. Contact a consumer rights organization or attorney for eligibility details.

Expect no quick fix: Parliament holds the legislative pen, but no draft ceiling on general banking commissions has gained traction. Political momentum centers on preventing future competition-law lapses, not price caps. Change will take time.

Geopolitical Context: The Central Bank's Supervisory Stance

Santos Pereira framed his testimony within a broader context of geopolitical risk and macroeconomic volatility. "We live in times of great uncertainty, marked by armed conflicts and geopolitical tensions, fortunately with a banking system better prepared to face threats," he said, cautioning institutions against complacency. "This does not mean they can relax."

The Central Bank's supervisory stance, he pledged, will remain "demanding and vigilant," with particular attention to credit risk and the macroeconomic environment. He also pointed to ongoing efforts to make the financial system "more just," including the fee-comparison portal upgrade.

Yet for households and businesses frustrated by high banking costs, the message was unambiguous: change must come from the Assembleia da República, not from the Central Bank. Until lawmakers act, fee-setting remains a prerogative of the banks themselves.