Banks Brace for Regulation Change
by June 5, 2006 12:00 am 71 views
Non-bankers may need to prep for a media blast about a slightly confusing regulation change set to take effect on July 1.
On that day, an amendment to the Truth in Savings Act will require banks that provide overdraft protection on accounts to list a new field on customers’ statements that lists overdraft fees (separate from a field that may just read “fees”). And banks will be required to show customers a year-to-date field, or the cumulative charged overdraft fees.
One caveat: banks that don’t advertise their overdraft protection don’t have to include the fields on customers’ statements even if they provide the protection. So some banks may opt to drop the advertising.
We checked with the area’s largest consumer bank, Bentonville-based Arvest Bank Group Inc. It plans to inform customers of their accrued fees per the amendment, although the bank doesn’t make a big deal of its overdraft service.
According to Arvest officials, the bank charges $15.93 to $17.43 for overdrafts, which is about 35 percent below the national average of $26.90.