Bank of America Cuts Out Free Checking Offers

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) announced it is making some big changes to its basic checking account services. The bank will discontinue offering totally free checking accounts to its new customers.

Now the bank will impose stipulations on basic checking accounts including minimum balance requirements and out-of-branch-only banking. The move by Bank of America may be a sign of things to come across the board at other banks. Free accounts may soon become a thing of the past. Wells Fargo was the first bank to stop free checking.

Bank of America launched the eBanking account service in August. This service allowed customers who banked solely online to have a free checking account. The stipulations with this banking program is the free account would require a $8.95 if they needed to access assistance from a branch teller or wanted to obtain paper statements.

Other changes have been instituted by Bank of America. An Emergency Cash option was made available to customers who wanted to make ATM withdrawals which exceed their current account balance. The charge for the service is $35 and the customer must directly except the charge before accessing the cash, unlike with a overdraft fee.

Not all banks have ceased their free checking options as of now. There are still banking institutions trying to keep up with free checking account offers including but with the need to make up profits since the recent changes made in the banking industry, it is likely consumers will have a harder time finding a new checking account provider totally free of charges.

Meanwhile, of banks that were bailed out through TARP’s Capital Purchase Program – a program intended for healthy bank – 66 were known to be weak at the time of their bailout, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

The 66 weak banks — most of which are small, community banks — were more likely to miss paying out dividends and interest to the government, and their ranks have grown over time. (The worst has been California’sSaigon National Bank, which has missed every single payment.) The GAO report notes that some banks that got money have already failed:

Four [Capital Purchase Program] institutions have failed, but the number of firms exhibiting signs of financial difficulty — such as missing their dividend or interest payments — has increased over time.

For instance, ...