Bank of America is planning to introduce a monthly fee for even the most basic checking accounts unless customers agree to bank online, buy more products or maintain certain balances.

This all comes after the huge consumer backlash last year when it tried to implement a five dollar per month debit card fee.

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You might have heard the news recently that the victims of Bernie Madoff would get some of their money back. The news was bittersweet - that's because those folks are only getting some of the money, just $312 million was expected to be distributed. Total losses of victims? $17 billion.

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We've focused a lot on this show on Bank of America's new $60-a-year debit card fee. But they are certainly not alone in raking up the costs for consumers. And the worst part? Higher bank fees are here to stay.

New rules have curtailed various kinds of traditional fees - such as overdraft and late fees - so banks are being forced to create brand spanking new charges... continue reading »

On today's show, I'm talking a lot about how it seems we've all lost confidence. One piece of evidence: Individual investors have pulled out of the stock market in record numbers. Stung by the crash after Lehman's bust, many of us just don't trust the stock market to help us with our most important goals - saving for retirement and our kids' education.

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Nothing and no one has me more fired up today than Bank of America.

The nation's largest bank is going to start charging all of its customers that use debit cards - a $5 monthly fee that kicks in early next year.

The bank says they have no choice - that "the economics of offering a debit card have changed."

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Finally. Some honesty on an issue that most bank executives won't talk about. Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said yesterday at a meeting with analysts in New York that the administration's push to get banks to forgive billions in troubled mortgages is unfair to borrowers who've been paying their mortgages... continue reading »