CUs’ Checking-Related Fees = Better Value for Consumers
Recently, Bankrate.com released results of its 2012 surveys on bank and credit union checking fees. A comparison of these two surveys suggests that the 50 largest credit unions appear to be widening their relative value on checking-related fees vs. the five largest banks and five largest thrifts.
First, the credit unions in Bankrate.com’s survey have expanded their lead over these competitors in terms of the percent of institutions offering free checking, i.e., no monthly service fee.
Source: Bankrate.com
While some may question the economics of offering free checking, TCF Bank bucked the prevailing trend in banking this past summer by re-introducing a free checking product. The bank, which previously dropped free checking in 2011, cited its desire to differentiate itself from larger banks as a principal reason for changing back.
