BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – More banks are altering pricing, fees and policies on their overdraft protection programs as regulators and legislatures threaten crackdowns on certain practices.
The most recent to make a change is Regions Bank, which on Thursday said it would ease certain of its fees. The bank, however, indicated it would continue one practice that has been among the most criticized – it will automatically enroll customers for overdraft protection. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase have all ceased such automatic enrollments in recent weeks.
Regions Bank, which said customers can opt out of its program at any time, said it was eliminating its overdraft fees when customers overdraw accounts by less than $5, and it will further cap its fee at four per day. The changes are to go into effect in Q1 2010.
