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Oregon banks offer few bargains Survey: Users pay high checking fees By WILLIAM McCALL The Associated Press PORTLAND -- Banks keep charging Oregon customers more fees despite record profits, making it one of the most expensive states in the nation to maintain a checking account, a consumer group says. Oregon ranks 33rd as having the second-highest checking fees among the 33 states and District of Columbia surveyed by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Only New York state had higher checking fees. Overall, Oregon ranked 24th for various bank charges, including checking account monthly fees, ATM fees, bounced check fees, minimum balance requirements and the number of banks offering free checking. Nationally, the consumer organization found that people who do not maintain a minimum balance in their checking accounts are paying an average $217.32 a year in various bank charges, up from $199.79 two years ago. In Oregon, the average fee was $252.30 to maintain a regular checking account for a year, the second-worst level in the survey, according to John Valley, spokesman for the Oregon chapter of the consumer group. Worse, he said, is that many banks are hiding fee increases or adding new fees for services that formerly provided without charge, such as ATM card rental fees, telephone fees for calling bank help centers, and even fees to close accounts. "Banks are punishing consumers with a relentless onslaught of more and higher fees," Valley said. But Tom Perrick, a spokesman for the Oregon Bankers Association in Salem, said the consumer group was misleading the public by blaming fees for the rise in bank profits. Fees account for only 4 percent of banking profits nationally. The rest of the profits come from the booming economy, which has boosted earnings in nearly every industry in the country, he said. Perrick said the best way for bank customers to beat fees is to read terms of any service carefully and shop around. "Consumers ought to shop and hold their institutions accountable," Perrick said. "I agree with that. There are a lot of choices out there." The survey comes as Congress edges toward a final vote on sweeping legislation that would lift Depression-era legal barriers and allow banks, securities firms and insurance companies to merge. Many consumer groups, including U.S. PIRG, have opposed the legislation, saying it would increase the concentration of financial power in a few big corporations. Consumers with accounts at big banks are paying on average 16 percent more for them than customers of smaller banks. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA