Bank fees charges ahead

Since the collapse (or near collapse) of the economy and the rescue of the banks by the U.S. taxpayers, Banks have been trying to shore up their balance sheets in every legal conceivable way they can. The U.S. tax payers have given these banks hundreds of billions of dollars to bail them out and since these banks have to pay back to them they are soaking them with every fee to pay them these loans in addition to making profit.

I must agree that it has not been a good ride for these banks. Every time they try to tuck in new fees to previous seemingly free services, some Congressmen (or Congresswomen) in the name of consumer protection tries to introduce some legislation to derail that effort.

Before it was credit card fees (a true and genuine complaint) and overdraft fees and now it is the ATM fees. Banks are under assault from every one. Now they have started to charge a minimum balance fees and next thing we know there will be somebody introducing another legislation. Now I can understand that since we (the taxpayers) bailed them out, they should not be charging us fees but since they are in the business of doing business they will have to charge for things which was taken for granted as free previously. I am not here taking the sides of the financial institutions as I am also being hit by these fees, but in order to become healthy, the banks will have to start charging fees on previously free services whether we like or not.