U.S. banks are on pace this year to book a record $43.6 billion in fees charged to customer deposit accounts — most notably overdraft fees — just as federal lawmakers prepare fresh restrictions on such fees.
Through the first half of the year, U.S. banks took in $21.8 billion in service charges on deposit accounts, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. That figure is a record for the first half of a year. Last year, banks booked $39.5 billion in such revenue, which does not include some other types of fees, like those for using ATMs.
Also on Thursday, U.S. Bancorp joined the list of the nation's biggest banks changing their overdraft policies as Capitol Hill lawmakers push ahead with broad restrictions on banks' fees.
Starting in the first quarter the Minneapolis company will make changes such as eliminating overdraft fees when the amount is less than $10 and limiting the number of overdraft fees to three a day.
