Barnstable County Report

Bank of American raises fees for non-customers on September 15

Bank of America must be in tough shape. After September 15 anyone who wants to cash a check drawn on Bank of America at a bank of America branch will have to pay a fee of $6.00 or open an account with Bank of America. Of course, last year the CEO of the bank suffered an 11% cut in total compensation from his 2006 pay. He made only 20.4 million dollars in 2007.

So, every tradesman who wants to convert his paycheck into cash so that he can fritter it away on food and other necessities without waiting for it to clear his own bank if he deposits it must pay a $6 ransom to the mighty Bank of America. Bank of America ranks among the top ten or so corporations globally every year, keeping company with the likes of Exxon and Microsoft, but to survive it must now charge wage earners $6 to receive their pay in currency or force them to do business with Bank of America itself.

Bank of America tellers are now informing non-bank customers of the impending change whenever they cash checks drawn on the bank. They are also informing  non-bank customers that if a Bank of America account holder does not want people it pays by check to fork over the $6 ransom fee they, the Bank's customers, must make arrangements with the Bank to absorb the fees themselves. Either way Bank of America is going to levy a $6 fee on all checks written to and cashed at their counters by non-Bank customers.

One question arises, at least; why does it cost nothing for Bank of America to process checks drawn on its own customers' accounts when those checks are deposited in the payees' accounts in other banks, but it costs $6 to poay an identical check at the teller's window?

Bank of America, according to information leaking out of the Bank, cascading actually,  controls approximately 10% of the total banking business on Cape Cod annually. The two remaining  banks, Cape Cod Five Cent Savings Bank and the Capen Cod Coperative Bank, both locally owned, handle far more of the total Cape Cod banking business in terms of dollar volume. Some estimates place their total banking activity at or above 50% (combined) of the gross Cape Cod banking business.

Perhaps there is a message in the following fact: Bank of America is one of the mega banks constantly in the spotlight because of its massive losses resulting from unsound underwrinting of sub-standard mortgages. Cape Cod Cooperative Bank has had one foreclosure and has accepted two deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure during the current mortgage crisis. And, Cape Cod Cooperative bank does not charge a fee to cash checks for non depositers when those checks are drawn on Cape Cod Coopereative accounts....neither does the Cape Cod Five Cent Savings bank. Apparently they feel at least as strongly about service and fairness as they do about income and fees. their antiquated banking methods rely on sound banking practices, sound loans and investments plus careful control of costs to produce steady profits.

Of course, both of these banks are locally owned and managed by ordinary people who have not yet figured out how to lose billions of dollars in bad loans. When they do they too will probably be charging fees to cash checks for their customers' workers.