January 1, Major Bank Eyes Sweeping Changes: Free Services on Chopping Block?

Chase Bank customers may soon face “sweeping changes,” according to Marianne Lake, CEO of consumer and community banking at Chase. In a recent report, Lake revealed that the bank might start charging for services that are currently free, such as checking accounts and wealth-management tools.

These adjustments would be necessary due to new regulations proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in January. The agency is seeking to cap overdraft fees at $3, late fees at $8, and limit debit-card fees. If these rules become law, Lake says that customers will have to account for the higher costs.

“The changes will be broad, sweeping and significant,” Lake said. “The people who will be most impacted are the ones who can least afford to be, and access to credit will be harder to get.”

However, not everyone agrees with Lake’s assessment. Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, argues that banks have other options besides passing on costs to customers. “Yet again, banks are dressing up their attempts to maximize their own profit under the guise of what’s good or bad for customers,” Kelleher said.

Some fear that big banks may profit over smaller, regional banks due to the new regulations. But larger institutions could risk losing customers if they charge for services that other banks continue to offer for free. Dan Goerlich, a consulting partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, suggests that competition in the banking sphere may force these banks to keep their services free in order to retain customers.

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