Australia's major banks boost profit on banking fees: RBA

Australian banks earned 12 billion Australian dollars (9.3 billion U.S. dollars) through banking fees in 2014, up 2.8 percent on the previous year, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) revealed on Thursday.

The RBA said the strongest source of growth was through credit- cards, not because fees were higher, but instead sighted the growing use of credit cards by both business and consumers. Credit- card fees for foreign exchange conversions were up as well as Australian consumers purchase more goods internationally.

According to the Australian Bankers Association (ABA), there were 119,000 more Australian credit card accounts in 2014 with credit card spending up 7 percent to 281 billion Australian dollars (217.6 billion U.S. dollars).

The ABA said banking fees made up 39.5 percent of bank profits in 2014, continuing the fall in fee-to-profit ratio since the global financial crisis.

"Fees as a proportion of bank assets, income and profits are now at a record low," Australian Bankers'Association chief executive Steven Munchenberg told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Fee income from businesses made up more than two-thirds of the 12 billion Australian dollars (9.3 billion U.S. dollars) earned, the highest proportion on record. Endi