Hancock Whitney is planning to eliminate some overdraft fees and other charges for customers by the end of the year, the Gulfport, Mississippi, company announced Friday.
The $36.5 billion-asset bank is also planning to launch a new account later this year known as Assure Checking, which won’t carry overdraft charges.
Hancock Whitney is the latest in the industry
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“Today the financial industry has entered a new era in banking designed to provide customers with the tools needed to help them manage their overall finances, and we believe these changes are another step towards achieving that goal,” Hancock CEO John Hairston said in a press release announcing the changes.
Specifically, Hancock Whitney is eliminating all nonsufficient-funds fees and certain overdraft protection transfer fees. The company is also cutting the sustained overdraft fee charged on accounts that remain in negative territory for an extended period.
The bank is also increasing the overdraft balance threshold that has to be hit before a fee is charged, giving customers more room in negative territory before taking a charge. It did not say what that threshold would be.
Hancock Whitney took in $28.6 million in overdraft fees last year, about in line with the $28.7 million from 2019, according to its call reports. The changes are expected to trim service charges collected on its accounts by $10 million to $11 million each year, the bank said Friday.
