Bank of America Revenue Worries Prompt Fees

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Bank of America (BAC) will be testing new fees for checking accounts to circumvent revenue hits resulting from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Other banks such as Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) have also said they may charge fees for checking accounts to generate more revenue as regulations such as the Durbin Amendment limit the fees banks can charge on debit-card transactions.

Approximately $11.8 billion of the current $16.2 billion generated in debit fees will disappear from the system as a result of the Durbin Amendment, according to a report by Oliver Wyman.

BofA Employees were told in an internal memo that the bank will start charging fees of roughly $6 a month for a basic account and $8.95 for enhanced accounts. Premium accounts will be charged $25, according to an article by The Wall Street Journal.

Fees for the premium accounts can be waived if customers maintain balances of $2,000, have credit cards or have a mortgage with the bank, according to The Washington Post

Customers with at least $50,000 in deposits and investments will get priority treatment from the bank including higher interest rates on their savings.

Testing of fees on the accounts will begin in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts this month. The fees are likely to be rolled out to all branches by the end of this year.

--Written by Maria Woehr in New York.



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