Bank of America Raising Fees for Most Customers

If you live in Arizona, Georgia or Massachusetts, Bank of America has its eye on you. The giant bank, which has some kind of banking relationship with half of all U.S. households, has chosen those states as test markets for a new batch of fees aimed at squeezing more money out of consumers.

Forget free checking, no-fee ATMs and statements in the mail. Nearly every activity will cost you something under the new fee structure, which has not been formally announced but became publicly known after a series of employee meetings this week.

The most basic checking account will cost about $6 a month while those with more features could cost as much as $25, press reports said.

As always, some fees might be waived for “better” customers, meaning those who maintain certain balances, keep a healthy balance on their credit cards, have a mortgage with the bank or do all of their banking online.

Ironically, the stiffer fees are at least partly in response to new regulations designed to protect consumers from predatory banking practices., including overdraft fees, high interest rates on credit cards and debit card “swipe” fees.

The changes are costing big banks billions and banks are moving swiftly to recover at least some of that revenue through new and higher fees.

A study by Bankrate.com recently found that the percentage of banks offering free checking has dropped from 76 percent in 2009 to 65 percent in 2010.

Wells Fargo and Chase are also trying out new fees.

The new Bank of America fee structure sets up four “tiers” – Premium, Enhanced, eBanking and Essentials, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The paper said the Premium and Enhanced tiers will be for customers who have multiple accounts with the bank. Ebanking is for customers who do all their banking online and Essentials is the most basic account, for those who have one checking account and a debit card.