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A Beijing-based law office filed an appeal to the municipal High People's Court on February 13, accusing the country's two banking watchdogs of non-performance on small business account charges initiated by banks.

Beijing Times reported that the appeal was made a week after Beijing's No.1 Intermediate People's Court's refused to hear the case delivered by Hengfangyongyuan Law Office on the grounds that it was out of its jurisdiction.

Last month the office sued the country's central bank, the People's Bank of China, and China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) in an attempt to hold the administrations responsible for failing to supervise the banks and regulate the irrational fee.

Prior to this case, the office also put China Merchants Bank on trial, questioning the validity of the charge. When asked for a statement, the People's Bank of China and CBRC declined to comment on the case.

According to Wang Liangbin, the law firm was charged 50 yuan (US$6.25) per month by China Merchants Bank from August to December in 2006 because the balance in the account was less than 50,000 yuan (US$6,250).

Wang said according to the Law of Commercial Banks, the charge should have been reviewed by the banking regulators and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) before taking effect, and the price set by watchdogs rather than the bank itself. However, the fee for the small business account did not appear to go through these necessary steps.

China Merchants Bank refuted that the charge, which it began collecting in July of last year, is part of the bank's efforts to optimize resources, better adapting it to the market. It's not a government-guided fee, so there is no need to hand it to higher administrations for review.

The charge is not only for business clients, but also applies to individual accounts that fail to meet a bottom line set by the bank. The payment is deducted automatically by the bank's network, the report explained. Customers who refuse to pay for the charge may have their accounts closed.

Wang complained the 50,000-yuan limit is too high for most small and medium-sized private enterprises. According to statistics from All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, there were 25.76 million self-employed households by the end of 2006 with an average balance of only 25,300 yuan (US$3162.5).

China's major banks began to levy the small account fee in 2005 after China Construction Bank became the first domestic bank to charge for low balances. Insiders say the charge is commonly recognized in other parts of the world, but many residents believe it goes against the interests of account holders.

(CRI February 17, 2007)