With new bank rules, guess who pays?

Regulations limit certain fees that banks can charge, and they are responding by coming up with new ways to ding customers. Meanwhile, their CEOs keep raking in the green.

By MainStreet
MainStreet on MSN Money

Banks waste your money, not theirs.

The past couple of years have been tough on banks -- or at least that's what they would have us believe.

Recent financial regulations are expected to cost banks as much as $25 billion a year, as they will now be forced to set limits on credit interchange fees charged to merchants, ask permission from consumers to charge overdraft fees and generally be more straightforward with their customers about interest rates.

"Regulatory and legislative activities have been working primarily against banks," said Richard Davis, the CEO of U.S. Bank, in a recent interview. "A lot of those are negatively biased against banks as they relate to profitability."

In response, major banks are expected to make up for lost revenue by coming up with new fees to charge consumers. In fact, some of the biggest banks have already begun to do so. Yet from a consumer's perspective, there is something amiss with this strategy. Many of these banks justify the new fees by playing up their weakened balance sheets, only to dole out lavish bonuses and exorbitant salaries to their executives. But if a company can afford to pay its executives extremely well, isn't that a sign that its finances are in better shape than it lets on?

JPMorgan and other banks have said they raised certain fees to make up for revenue lost because of new and proposed regulations related to debit and credit cards. CardHub.com estimates that proposed limits to debit-card transaction fees could cost banks $13 billion a year. Based on these regulatory and industry shifts, Wells Fargo said it considers its accounts and services fairly priced.

MainStreet took a closer look at some of the biggest banks that are imposing new fees this year and found that some have also increased the salaries for their chief executives, casting further doubts on their motives. How much more are they making -- and how much more are you paying?

Comment:

Remember what I've always said. No matter how friendly they seem, bankers are NOT your friends. The only thing they care about is getting as much of your money as they can. From your local little community bank, right on up to the biggest gang of criminals around, the Federal Reserve Bank, they are out to profit while you lose.

Oh, one last little annoyance. Besides taking your hard earned money, they get every little half-assed holiday off WITH pay, while most of us have to work. Who pays for their paid holidays? That's right, we do. I guess that's why we have to work on Columbus Day, so we can afford for them to have the day off with pay.

Dan 88!