Durbin Blasts Bank of America On New Checking Fee Plans. Again.
Calls On Banks Large and Small to Adopt Easy-To-Read Fee Disclosure Form
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today after Bank of America announced new monthly fees for its checking account holders unless they bank online, buy more products or maintain a minimum balance:
“Here we go again. Four months to the day after Bank of America rolled back plans to squeeze their customers instead of serving them, they are at it again. This brazen return to new monthly fees is a challenge that cannot go unanswered. It’s time for all banks to join Chase and others and make a clear disclosure of their fees in an upfront, transparent and consumer-friendly manner.”
“I call on Bank of America – and all of the nation’s banks - to immediately adopt a clear, simple and upfront checking account fee disclosure form so consumers know exactly what fees are associated with each account. With effective transparency and competition, we can ensure that consumers on Main Street do not get nickled and dimed while trying to access their own money.”
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project has developed a model disclosure form that banks across the country have begun adopting. A copy of that form is attached. It outlines all the basic checking account terms and conditions – including ATM fees, interest rates, overdraft penalties, and account closing fees -- in a concise, easy-to-read format. Currently, the median length of checking account disclosures is 111 pages, according to a Pew study of the nation's 10 largest banks.
The Pew disclosure form has been voluntarily adopted by Chase, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, North Carolina State Employees’ Credit Union, Inland Bank and the University of Illinois Employees Credit Union.