U.S. banks may end free checking accounts: report

Banks seem to be tightening up their financial purse strings lately. The latest report from Reuters.com states banks are doing away with free checking accounts. It further explains that this move is expected primarily to hurt retail businesses who could be asked to pay new monthly maintenance fees on their basic accounts that do not generate a lot of activity. According to Reuters banks are incurring expenses of $250-$300 a year to maintain each of the approximately 200 million checking accounts. However, some people disagree with this assessment. Don’t banks borrow against the money in checking accounts? And aren’t they already charging customer’s overdraft fees, ATM fees, and dozens of other outrageous fees? What do you think? Are you with a large bank or do you prefer a credit union instead? Let me know your thoughts on my Facebook or Twitter.