Australian bank fee income grew by 2.6 per cent in 2013 to $11.6 billion, reflecting "moderate growth" in income from fees charged to both businesses and households.In its annual survey on bank fees, the Reserve Bank said the growth was driven by expansion of banks' balance sheets. Deposit and loan fees fell as a proportion of the outstanding value of deposits and loans.The biggest contributors to the growth in fee income from households, which rose 2.3 per cent, were credit card fees and personal loans. Growth in credit card fees reflected growth in the value of credit card transactions and a small increase in the number of cards on issue.Annual fees on credit cards were "little changed" and income from over-limit or late payment fees declined as a result of the decline in the average charge of those fees.One area where there was growth in fee levels was ATM transactions. The charge for a cash advance rose by an average of 3.4 per cent, the cost of using another institution's ATM rose 43.4 per cent and the cost of using an overseas ATM rose 3.4 per cent.Exception fees on deposit accounts rose 12.4 per cent, as a result of an increase in the number of exception fees charged for overdrawn accounts and dishonoured cheques. and not because of an increase in the actual fees charged.Fee income from businesses rose 2.8 per cent. A big factor was a rise in the number of credit card transactions, which drove growth in income from merchant services fees, which were up eight per cent. Income from exception fees on business loans and deposit accounts both fell.