The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is underperforming its top rivals today.
In afternoon trade on Tuesday, shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stock are trading for $158.22, up 0.2%.
As for CommBank's chief competition, ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares are up 1.0%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares are up 0.8%, and the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is up 1.1% at this same time.
The ASX 200 itself is up 0.7%.
Although the CBA share price has outperformed the other big four banks over the past six months, the bank could be facing some headwinds as investors eye the premium that shares of Australia's biggest bank command.
There also may be some negative investor reaction to the news that a lot of CBA's customers will soon be paying a $3 fee every time they want to withdraw their money from the bank.
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CBA share price trailing the benchmark on Tuesday
According to CommBank's website, the bank is instituting a new $3 withdrawal fee to its Smart Access Account customers who take out cash from a CBA branch via telephone banking or at the post office.
The fee on the so-called "assisted withdrawals" comes as the bank is closing its Complete Access Account and transitioning customers to its Smart Access Account.
It's unclear what, if any, impact the new fees will have on the CBA share price over the longer term.
CBA said it is waving the new fees for customers under the age of 18 and those who "are reliant on over the counter services because of a disability".
Customers will still be able to withdraw money from CommBank ATMs without incurring the new fees.
Commenting on the changes, a CBA spokeswoman said (quoted by The Daily Telegraph), "CBA customers currently holding our Complete Access account, which is no longer offered, will move to a Smart Access account from January 2025."
She added:
The monthly account fee for the Smart Access account is currently $2 less than the Complete Access account and both accounts offer similar features. Waivers apply to these monthly account fees, including where a customer has deposits of at least $2,000 per month.
Clearly not everyone is pleased with the new fees.
The Daily Telegraph quoted one irate client, who said, "There is absolutely no need to charge customers for cash withdraws from their own bank; this is to disincentivise the use of cash plain and simple."
The CBA share price is up 51% over the past 12 months.
