from the Detroit Free Press:
The nation's biggest banks are increasing many of their fees, adding new ones, eliminating debit card rewards programs and making it harder for customers to avoid paying monthly charges for checking accounts.
On May 24, Bank of America will raise the monthly fee on its most popular checking account from $8.95 to $12. On June 27, it will start charging customers a $35 fee if they overdraw their account by less than $10. And next year, the bank plans to replace its basic checking account with a new "essentials" account that comes with a monthly fee that cannot be avoided.
At Chase Bank, fees have increased for overdraft transfers, outgoing wire transfers and stopped payments. New customers that sign up for a basic checking account face a $12 monthly charge, up from $6.
Experts warn consumers to expect more of these and other moves by large banks to boost revenue. "Services that used to be free will not be free," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, a financial information publisher. "There is very definitely a pocketbook impact on consumers." ..............(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.freep.com/article/20110513/BUSINESS07/105130385/Banks-hit-customers-higher-fees-more-them?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p