New fees due for Bank of America consumers

Bank of America is going to experiment this year with a different fee structure for its consumer bank accounts, both in an attempt to recover revenue lost because of new financial regulations and to respond to consumer feedback, bank officials said Thursday.

New federal rules make it more difficult for banks to collect money from overdraft charges and credit card swipe fees, and Bank of America is just the latest to propose making it more difficult for consumers to avoid other fees.

In its test program, to be introduced this year in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts, customers will have to deposit more money in the bank to avoid being charged. After an evaluation of how the program works, the changes would take effect nationwide in about a year, said Deposits and Card Product executive Susan Faulkner.

She said the new plans reflect a "new economic reality," but said there are now more ways for consumers to avoid fees.

Faulkner added that the flexibility - and a stronger emphasis on customer service - reflects the bank's desire to "create relationships with customers, rather than the old way of doing business, which was just selling products."

That is an apparent response to the growing popularity of smaller community banks and credit unions, which have the reputation of offering richer customer service.

Karen Tyson, senior vice president of communications for Independent Community Bankers of America, said she doubted Bank of America or any other large bank could offer the kind of personal service often found in smaller, more local banks.

"I wouldn't think that Bank of America could change that easily," she said. "They're trying to offer the perception of providing the type of customer service that community banks have always offered."

She said deposits at community banks have grown since the financial crisis, but it's difficult to know if they're coming from larger banks.