Squeezed by falling revenue on deposit accounts, banks are turning to a familiar source of income: overdraft fees, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The median fee for withdrawing more from a checking account than a customer has on deposit increased to an estimated $30 in 2013 — a record — up from $29 in 2012 and $26 in 2009, based on a survey of 2,890 banks and credit unions by Moebs Services Inc., an economic-research firm in Lake Bluff, Ill. Banks' fee revenue from checking, savings and other deposit accounts has been sliding since several regulations took effect. The Federal Reserve in 2010 stopped banks from automatically charging customers overdraft fees on debit card and automated-teller-machine transactions. In addition, the Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law included an amendment that went into effect in 2011 lowering a debit card fee large financial institutions charge merchants.
