A quiet day, with the usual light volume rally in stocks after mixed to bad economic news.
Make way for the YELP IPO.
Bank of America announced today that it is going to start charging a $6 to 25 per month checking account fee for retail customers in Arizona, Georgia, and Massachusetts. Depending on how that works for them, they intend to expand it to the rest of the country.
As the spokesmodels chuckled, that's not so bad, you pay at least that much for a gym membership. You pay for service in a restaurant and you don't complain to them.
Typically checking accounts had been free in return for receiving no interest on the balance in the account. But given the ZIRP environment of today, and the high cost structures but shrinking revenues of the TBTFs, Banks are looking to maintain their bubble economy lifestyles with more transactional fees.
The shame of course is that the only retail customers who will pay this outrageous fee are older people who are afraid to change, and will not use online banking to save fees.
Waiter, what's this pig doing in my soup? Oh I'm sorry I'm at the bank.
