Free checking and revisionist history

by. Steve Topper

Sorry bankers but the Free Checking account has not been the primary cause of your ongoing financial problems.

I put the blame on a number of factors including subprime lending, mortgage securitization, bad policy from the Federal Reserve, onerous legislation at the federal level, prohibitively expensive brick and mortar branch networks, elimination of Glass Steagall, the advent of online banking, online-only banks, growing competition from non-bank competitors like Walmart, moral hazard, extreme competition from the too-big-to-fail mega-banks, rapidly changing technology, and more.

And Free Checking certainly wasn’t an integral component of most banks’ business models – especially for the big banks.

Yes, a number of weeks have passed since I last droned on and on about Free Checking – one of my favorite blog topics.

But a recent article sent my way by ACTON Marketing’s creative director irritated me to the point that another Free Checking blog is necessary.

The article in question, “The Future of Free Checking According to PNC’s CEO,” was written by John Maxfield and posted to The Motley Fool website on September 17.

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