Government agency overseeing banks criticizes bank fees
Filed under: Banks
USA Today is reporting a new Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. study has come out with a finding: Overdraft fees at banks are boosting their profits "at the expense of consumers, especially young and low-income people."Shocking. It's the kind of news that you'd generally read about -- as the hilarious comedian Andy Borowitz likes to say -- in Duh magazine.
I'm not mocking USA Today -- I'm glad they're reporting on this -- or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It's important to do these studies, and it's significant because the government agency that oversees these banks, by guaranteeing the safety of their customers' checking and savings deposits, is criticizing these banks.
But I doubt that anyone who isn't a garden variety multi-millionaire is going to be remotely surprised by their findings. So what is going on with this study?
The survey only looked at FDIC-insured banks, and what they found was:
- Most banks automatically enroll customers into overdraft programs without telling them -- and then they won't let them out of it if asked. These programs then allow consumers to overdraw by check, ATM or debit card purchases.
- About half of overdrafts occur at ATMs or through debit card transactions.
- Large banks are more likely than smaller ones to process transactions from largest to smallest dollar amount. Ergo, more fees.
- In 2006, banks earned $1.97 billion in overdraft-related fees, representing 74% of the $2.66 billion that the banks brought in on service charges.
According to the group the Center for Responsible Lending, if you include all banks, not just FDIC-insured ones, and credit unions, every year they're pulling in $17.5 billion in overdraft-related fees. Or if you go with the numbers from the Government Accountability Office, which go beyond overdrafts and into ATMs and other service charges, Americans spent $36 billion in 2007 on banking fees.
And what I found really interesting in the USA Today article was that they mentioned Michael Moebs, a bank consultant, who said that according to his research, nearly half of consumers pay overdraft fees every year.
So here's my idea, which will alleviate our frustration with bank fees, jump-start the economy and redirect some of the bailout money to the public.
We should put the government in charge of deciding what bank fees should be.
Ideally, I'd love to just get rid of banking fees, but I realize that will never happen and truthfully they have their place. Some people obviously would abuse their bank account if they knew that there would be no punitive fees for going amok.
But there's a good argument going that banks are abusing consumers with their bank fees, and Congress could put some laws in place to bring bank fees down considerably, to levels where banks weren't profiting but just covering maintenance costs.
I know I'm not the first to suggest this. In fact, someone at the Huffington Post recently suggested that the bailout be tied into eradicating ATM fees.
Interesting thought, but again, I'd like to go much further. I'd like to reduce all banking fees across the board. And if not at every bank, at least every single bank that gets any bailout money from the government.
Here's my logic.
The government works for the people, and right now, the people's money is helping to save banks, many of which made a lot of bad decisions over the last several years. So right now, the banks are an extension of the government, and so in theory, the banks should be doing the bidding of the people. Well, I'm declaring what I think we should do: let's slash bank fees to what they were in -- and I'm admittedly pulling this year out of thin air -- 1985.
If the government did that, everyone would have more money -- more money to buy houses, cars, milk. More money, in other words, to spend on the economy and put in their savings accounts, all of which will help everyone, including banks.
Geoff Williams is a freelance journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale).



Reader Comments (Page 1 of 20)
12-04-2008 @ 6:22AM
Tina Angel said...
I would make them start posting things in the order ( time/date) that they are taking place. most people may realize they might bounce something but when it gets posted in a different order it makes it MORE fees then they had origonaly thought. atm fees dont really bother me banks have enough atms that stupid people can use instead of ones that arent their banks. or do what i do go buy a stick of gum or soda and get cash back at the store...
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12-04-2008 @ 8:30AM
Adrien said...
I agree with you that getting cash back from buying gum at a store is much more effective .. at least you get something for you money spent... but still what kind of bothers me is like so many rules the point is often forgotten.... If I overdraft and i don't have the money to pay ok charge me I understand I shouldn't have overdrafted but when I accidentally overdrafted and put the money in to cover before the over draft is officially processed that new money should clearly eliminate any fear of a charge... at least that's how I feel.. it's not like I don't have the money .. it may just have been a timing thing .. I remember I went to the gas station thought I had 40 bucks on my gas card but I only had 32 I pumped 35 went home checked then ran straight to the bank to cover it .. fortunately my bank was smart and it covered my mistake... any other way would be dumb I feel.
Adrien
http://www.TheNakedHippie.com
12-04-2008 @ 9:34AM
Jon Boy said...
Banks, and CC companies are evil....Listen to this..
Chase Penalizes Customers For Saving Money Too Long
http://www.curiousread.com/2007/08/chase-penalizes-customers-for-saving.html
12-04-2008 @ 10:08AM
Patsy said...
Here's their game. They pay the largest check first, no matter what order they come in, so every check after that bounces and they can charge an overdraft fee for each one. Otherwise all the little checks would clear and they could only charge one fee for one check. The way they do it even the overdraft fees cause more shortages. This can easily spiral out of contrtol and their rationale is that their customers prefer to have the larger check covered. Pul-ease! Did you get a vote on that? I didn't. It apparently has NOTHING to do with them being able to charge your account $35 per check. Yeah, right. This has even happened when you make a deposit after 3 PM, at THEIR window, time stamped THAT day, but enetered on the next day's paperwork. Meanwhile they can process an incoming check or debit up to midnight AGAINST your account on that date. Another learning curve when you find that out. And of course (duh) the young, low income, and may I add old, are the victims of this. The whole system, including loans, is set to favor the affluent. They get a lower rate when they need money, they have check protection, and they usually have an inside track to the branch manager in order to get a phone call to warrent off these pesky oversights. We wouldn't want to have them move their account elsewhere. But as I pointed out to my bank, people like me are where they are making their biggest money and they're not fooling anyone. I'm glad to read that someone is at least looking at it. It's a disgrace!
12-04-2008 @ 12:07PM
Mariel said...
I agree, my husband and I got raped by 5/3rd bank because they said it was legal to put a hold on purchaces and start paying the highest one first so they can charge us all that overdraft fees. I think it should be first come first served. Well we closed our account with them because the lady that was explaining all this was a total "beep" and didn't care that we were having problems to begin with cause I was out of work on disability and my husband got laid off from a auto supplier for a month. Now we're worried how we're going to pay our bills when we get laid off this month.
12-04-2008 @ 12:30PM
shellie said...
YES, YES, YES YOU ARE SO RIGHT. THEY POST CHECKS IN ORDER TO CREATE OVERDRAFT FEES. I HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS. THEY MANIPULATE THE TRANSACTIONS IN ORDER TO CREATE MULTIPLE OVERDRAFTS.
12-04-2008 @ 12:35PM
FB said...
The majority of people do not regularly balance their accounts and banks are using it to their advantage.
WORRIED ABOUT TRAILER THEFT?? You need to:
http://www.carrythebigstick.com
12-04-2008 @ 1:54PM
Krystal said...
It's a joke what these banks get away with. When I was in the hospital giving birth, my husband used our ATM card for everything under the sun. The bank kept allowing these $3 and $5 charges after some bills had cleared and overdrew our account. After I left the hospital, my account already had hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees. So, I immediately, the day after I arrived home, drove to the bank to make a deposit. They then, of course, waited until midnight to post the deposit, meanwhile charging me hundreds of dollars more in overdraft fees on previous charges that came in from days before. Most of these purchases were less than $5. What an expensive nightmare.
12-04-2008 @ 1:17PM
Julia said...
Oh MY GOD!! isn't it ridiculous how banks post items to our accounts!...I'll check my account on line one day and have lets say $100 available so i'll make a debit card bill payment for lets say $25, then I'll stop at the store and use my debit card to pick up dinner for lets say $20 then maybe make another debit card purchase for $25, so I should still have $30 left when i check on line at 10pm. WRONG! The next day a check will appear out of the blue (but posted on the prior date when I had $100 avail.) for $95 and all those debit purchases that cleared the day before now are returned and I am charged $35/EACH and the check is bounced as well because the $105 in fees eats up EVERY PENNY!!!!! So instead of the bank bouncing the check and collecting one fee, they switch everything around and collect 4 fees!!!! One month they hit me for over $600 in fees because I didn't realize their scam in time and it screwed up my whole account!
12-05-2008 @ 9:42AM
steve said...
Absolutley. Banks should be reuired to process transactions in the order recieved. Unfortunately now, most if not all banks re-sequence transactions to increase insufficient funds fees.
It works like this. You make a deposit Saturday morning. You pay your yard guy at noon, he takes your check to the bank and cashes it. Monday the bank processes transactions. They process the check to the yard man- drawing your account negative. Then they process the deposit.
Alternately you go the bank saturday morning, check your ballance. Plenty of money. You use your atm card all weekend. Monday a check comes through your account. Banks process the check as of Friday. As such, all your weekend purchases are charged a fee.
12-04-2008 @ 6:22AM
tom mccloskey said...
why are are banks able to charge me when I deposit a payroll check that bounces?
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12-04-2008 @ 10:57AM
arereynolds said...
It is a legal added fee they can charge. They want you to put your money on their direct deposit service so that they know when your money is coming in and less work for them.
12-04-2008 @ 10:32AM
Tiwi said...
I work for a financial service center. Not a bank, mind you. And if a payroll check bounces with us, the DA of our state will not allow us to go after the company. We are required to go after the individual that got the payroll check. Its absurd!!!
12-04-2008 @ 1:14PM
Paula said...
WOW Tom!! Time to change jobs. In the meantime, you do know that your employer is responsible for any overdraft fees you incur because of their bad check. Plus any fees charged for any other checks you bounce because of their bad check.
If this is a habit, you might want to consider called the Wage and Labor Board in your state and report them. Payroll checks should never bounce.
12-10-2008 @ 5:55PM
Tammy said...
Banks are able to charge you when you deposit a check that bounces because when you hand that check in to the bank and sign the back it is saying "Whom ever wrote this check is a good person, and I trust them."
12-04-2008 @ 6:41AM
steve said...
I whole heartily agree with reducing the fee's, and policing the banks practices for over-drafting. You hit it on the head, they take the big amounts first and then over draft the small one that woulld have been covered, and at today's rate which has been climbing at a sharp rate. is $37.00 ( if they over draft 6 transactions and they cover the largest of the 6 and I;m out over $150.00) . I have a responsibility to maintain my banking account, and at some point you have a bad day. Someone double charges your card, you forgot to record a transaction. It happens. Then look out ! Pay the maintenance cost to fix it, you basically get a loan to cover that amount. But it would be cheaper and safer to get a loan from "Jimmy the Loan Shark" there you know what your going to get ! This is moot any way it is not going to change and the middle incomer's will have to suffer !!!
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12-04-2008 @ 10:33AM
arereynolds said...
You are right part way. They are doing a good job at over-drafting us . Yes we would be expecting a bite from Jimmy. We need to stand up and say we need a bailout. Don't let them do that to us, they would not let the people get away taking money from them.would it be fair to drop the fees when we are in a recession? How do we do it? Write our congress and keep speaking. The more the word goes around the more people hear it the more they will speak . Soon it will get to the right ears that can make that differance.
12-04-2008 @ 10:52AM
Micxhelle said...
It is not so much the idea of them charging for an over draft, it is the idea that they make the big check or charge overdraft the account, and charge you 35.00 for all the small ones. Then if you don't fix it the NEXT day, they start charging you a daily rate as well,7 dollars at some banks, on each count, is what I have heard, that is added to the already out rageous charge of 35 dollars for a 5 dollar expense, and more than one if you have used the card that many tmes for small extractions. So, you may as well figure 100% plus profit or interest per day on some charges. No, the banking industry doesn't need bailing out, the people of this country need bailing out of being totally ripped off by the elite, and CEO's of htis country that over charge the normal working person in order to have all thier fun and fineries.
12-04-2008 @ 12:31PM
eve said...
Yes Steve, and on top of that it is my understanding that they process all of the checks/debits BEFORE they process any deposits to the account, thus greatly increasing the chance that checks will bounce. Nice, eh?
12-04-2008 @ 7:08AM
Wayne said...
I don't worry about that, what is so hard to figure out when it comes to using an ATM or writing a check, if the balance in your checkbook says $20.00, don't write a check or use your card for something that is going to cost $25.00.
I can honestly say that I bounced 1 check in my life, and that was on my very first checking account a lot of years back, in 1970.
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