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Overdraft revenue at banks, thrifts and credit unions has stagnated over the last year, according to new research, as the industry absorbs the impact of past regulations and braces for potential future ones.
June 3 -
Banks that have been proactive in anticipating the regulatory winds might have little to fear from the rules, but others that have been slow to adapt could be forced to make significant changes that could crimp profits.
May 24
Credit unions have long charged their depositors lower overdraft fees than banks, but that gap is shrinking, according to new survey data.
Credit union members who overdraw their accounts in 2013 pay a median fee of $28, according to research by the economic research firm Moebs Services. That's up from $25 three years earlier.
Meanwhile, bank customers who spend more money than they have in their account pay a median overdraft fee of $30, the research found. That's the same price that banks were charging back in 2010.
Michael Moebs, the chief executive officer at Moebs Services, said in a press release that overdraft volume at credit unions has been falling, so the nonprofits have been raising their fees in an effort to maintaine revenue
While the gap between the overdraft fees charged by banks and credit unions has shrunk to $2, there remains a wider spread between the prices charged by large and small depository institutions.
Banks and credit unions with more than $50 billion in assets charge a median overdraft price of $35, while institutions with the smallest institutions charge $29, according to the research.
"The consumer who either occasionally or frequently overdrafts saves substantially by going to community banks and credit unions," Moebs stated.
The company's research also found significant state-by-state variations in overdraft fees. Delaware banks and credit unions charged the highest fees, at a median price of $34, while depositories in Kansas came in on the low end, with a $25 median fee.
