Many banks socking businesses with improper 'FDIC' fee
Source: McClatchy Newspapers
Despite an order last month from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to its 7,241 member banks to stop using its name on any fees charged to business account holders, many banks continue flouting the instructions and are socking businesses with extra charges, McClatchy has found.
By using the agency name in charging an “FDIC assessment” or fee, banks mislead customers into thinking that the agency charges depositors for deposit insurance, or that the financial institutions are simply collecting and passing through a government fee.
Although the practice is prohibited, McClatchy’s investigation found that it remains common, with some banks in most communities where McClatchy publishes hitting businesses with such improperly labeled fees.
... Citibank, which required the largest taxpayer bailout in the 2008 financial crisis, explains in a footnote on its schedule of fees for business accounts in the nation’s capital and surrounding states that it charges an “FDIC insurance fee” at an annual rate of 13 cents per $100.
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/08/23/163281/many-banks-socking-businesses.html