Banking isn't what it used to be
Lewis Diuguid“Free” checking isn’t what it used to be.
Who can blame banks. They need the money.
Depositors with “free checking” are getting trimmed a bit more. Bankrate.com on Monday released data showing that banks increased the average minimum balance this year to $723. The Los Angeles Times reported that the average monthly fee for a checking account that pays no interest was a record high $5.48, up 25 percent in 2012 from 2011.
On accounts earning interest, the average monthly fee was a record $14.75, a 4 percent jump from last year.
Bankrate reported that 39 percent of non-interest-bearing checking accounts were free of any fees or minimum balance requirements compared with 45 percent in 2011 and 76 percent in 2009.
Blame the bad economy for bank charges. Overdraft fees also rose 1.4 percent to a record high of $31.26.
U.S. consumers/taxpayers are bailing the banks out once again. But who is going to aid the consumers/taxpayers?
Steven Fetter
66223
7 months, 4 weeks agoBanking isn’t what it used to be.
Neither are newspapers. Or anything else for that matter.
George Hunsucker
Northland
7 months, 4 weeks agoLet us see. Could this be a result of Dodd-Frank??? No, this was “helping” according to the libs that passed it,right??? As predicted,banks are merely shifting where they earn their money, and the all caring libs have once more screwed the poor who were getting TRULY FREE checking…nice work!