PNC Financial Services (PNC), Bank of America Corp (BAC): 3 Reasons You Won’t Have to Kiss Free Checking Goodbye

One of the key ways banks can tilt this equation in their favor is to work on the cost side of it. Rather than introduce additional fees, banks can push customers toward less-costly avenues for their banking services — like mobile banking, for instance. As Jessica Alling noted earlier this week, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) is now seeing more than 100,000 checks processed per day through mobile deposit. And as this takes place, investors have also heard a lot about banks closing branches and pruning ATM networks.

That doesn’t preclude actions on the other side of the equation, though. However, from an investor’s perspective, it’s not quite as easy as cheering for a drastic move away from totally free checking. After all, it’s a brutally competitive environment when it comes to attracting deposits and bringing in new customers, and it’s likely that some banks will continue to be willing to offer free checking, take the hit on the front end, and lure as many customers as possible.

For a long time, free checking has been the accepted norm. But in a changed environment with lower interest rates, tighter-regulated fees, and more of a focus on efficiency and smart growth, it makes sense that the norm is being rethought. But this change will require a careful approach (remember the game Operation?). What investors should look for, then, are efforts by the banks to find a balance between cost cutting, hoop jumping, and free checking.

The article 3 Reasons You Won’t Have to Kiss Free Checking Goodbye originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Matt Koppenheffer.

Matt Koppenheffer owns shares of Bank of America and PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC). The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America and Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Huntington Bancshares, PNC Financial Services, and Wells Fargo.

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