Bank fee reg legislation introduced in Massachusetts House

BOSTON - State Rep. Jarret Barrios is angry about big banks' fees and is not going to take it anymore. Outraged by an announcement from some of the big banks in the state of their impending plans to assess new fees, Barrios (D-Cambridge), backed by Secretary of State William Galvin introduced legislation May 18 that would restrict bank fees. Among the provisions of the Bank Fee Fairness Act, it would empower the Division of Banks to approve or prohibit any fees charged by banks for federally insured consumer checking and savings accounts, and fees and penalities related to these accounts. Banks would be required to show that the fee increase was tied to increases in the cost of doing business. The fees would not include any fees or penalties related to a credit card connected to a consumer checking or savings account. The department would also have the authority to approve a lower fee than one requested by a bank. In addition, all applications for the establishment and approval of fees would be available for inspection by the public and the banking commissioner could not approve or disapprove a fee until a public hearing was held. At press time, The Bank Fee Fairness Act hadn't been assigned to a committee. Its docket number is 5264.