B of A may revise account fees

You almost have to feel bad for Bank of America. (Well, not quite.) Since that $5-a-month debit card fee debacle, whenever "fee" and "B of A" are mentioned in the same sentence, people's hackles stand up.

That happened today after The Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of America is nearly ready to go nationwide with checking account fees it's been testing in three states. (B of A later in the day issued a statement denying the report.) 

"It looks like Bank of America is up to its old tricks," Norma Garcia, manager of Consumers Union's financial services team, said in a news release. "Consumers have made it loud and clear that they are fed up with new bank fees."

More specifically, here's what the WSJ said:  

Bank of America pilot programs in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts now are experimenting with charging $6 to $9 a month for an "Essentials" account. Other account options being tested in those states carry monthly charges of $9, $12, $15 and $25 but give customers opportunities to avoid the payments by maintaining minimum balances, using a credit card or taking a mortgage with Bank of America, according to a memo distributed to employees.

The story added, "Bank of America currently charges a wide range of monthly fees for checking accounts, unless customers meet certain requirements, but the new plans being tested could change the amounts being charged and the triggers for fees."

It seems a new fee structure would be intended to encourage bank customers to use more bank services -- credit cards, loans, etc. -- that are profitable to the bank, or make customers actually pay for the checking account services they use or leave. 

Is B of A just months away from rolling this out? The Associated Press reported later in the day:  

Bank of America says it is "not planning to increase checking account fees with our existing customers." Of the tests in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts, it says it is "continuing to learn" from them and has made no decisions.

You can read the full denial here. (You can read about the test fees at this B of A Web page. Only the fee for the Essentials account seems unavoidable, unless you simply choose not to get that type of account. The B of A accounts available in other states are described on this page.)

It will be interesting to see how Bank of America proceeds. That hugely unpopular debit card fee proposal ended up costing the bank, even though B of A killed the fee before launching it. Jason Notte at The Street reported:

Bank of America alone saw certificates of deposit and investment retirement accounts fall to $82 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011 from $96 billion in the quarter a year earlier. In the last three months of 2011, after the $5 debit card fee was proposed, closed accounts at Bank of America rose 20%.

Notte also wrote:

Even when companies try to introduce fees with more subtlety, (John) Breyault (vice president of the National Consumers League) says they're going to have to start taking potential consumer outrage into consideration before boosting the bottom line.

I suspect that consumers are OK with fees they can relate directly to a service they value. When my bank did away with free checking awhile ago, it offered me several possible ways to avoid a monthly fee. I took them up on it and still happily bank there.

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, says it costs his bank $300 a year on average to maintain a bank account, AP reported. Someone has to pay for that.

Halah Touryalai emphasized this point at Forbes:

So before there's another round of outrage over bank fees it's important to understand why these fees are being imposed on consumers. ... (I)t hasn't been the best environment for banks in terms of revenue; interest rates are down meaning there's less money to be made off deposits and loans, and there are more regulations out there that are affecting the way banks make money.

If you don't like your Bank of America account if it happens to change, you can always switch banks, but be careful. AP also reports:

Since November, Wells Fargo has charged $15 a month for some checking accounts unless customers have three accounts with the bank, maintain a minimum balance of $7,500 or have a Wells Fargo mortgage.

Some Citibank customers are being charged $20 a month unless they keep $15,000 in their accounts, up from $6,000 before December. They're also being dinged with a $2 fee for using non-Citi ATMs if their balance falls below the minimum.

Or you can look for banks and credit unions that offer truly free checking accounts. They still exist.

More on MSN Money:

• In defense of Bank of America's fees
• How to avoid new bank fees
• Look out for higher overdraft fees
• Banks add sneaky fees
• Converts sing praises of credit unions
• Ditch your checking account and save