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Banks Charging for Checking Accounts Due to Dodd-Frank Regulations

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Thursday, 27 September 2012 13:09

Written by Cliff Levine

The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform bill that was rammed into law in 2010 is beyond destructive to the financial industry.  Billed as a law that would entail consumer protections, it actually gives the government unprecedented control over the banking system, with over 420 new rules and regulations, most of which haven't even been implemented because they're so massive.  Thanks to these regulations, free checking accounts are now considered a luxury.

Remember the Durbin Amendment from that dipshit puke little Dick Durbin?  He caused a ruckus last year at this time when Bank of America and Citibank announced debit card and checking account fees in response to little Dick's amendment.  It's important to remember that little Dick has zero financial industry experience - all he wants is to nationalize the banks and control money from private citizens.  

This Week has details on the state of free checking accounts in America - and they've decreased significantly since Dodd-Frank was passed by two nudniks that know nothing about the financial system.

"If free checking accounts were animals, they'd be on the World Wildlife Fund's list of endangered species," says Catherine New at The Huffington Post. This week, industry trade group Bankrate reported that only 39 percent of checking accounts in America are free (meaning they require no minimum balance and don't charge a monthly fee). The free checking account used to be nearly ubiquitous — clocking in at a high of 76 percent in 2009 — but banks have been cutting back their largesse in a bid to squeeze more money out of customers.

Free checking accounts dropped to 39% from 76% in 2009 - and that was even after the financial system meltdown.  To pay for the erroneous and irresponsible regulations in Dodd-Frank - two members of Congress that should be behind bars - banks have had to charge customers for services that were once free.  This is how the private sector works: when regulations impact a business on the bottom line, the cost gets passed onto the consumer, begging the question, who do the regulations really help?

Dodd-Frank is intended to give more financial power to the government, plain and simple. There is no consumer protection, only increased consumer fees.

Cliff Levine is a contributing editor for Habledash.