Credit unions and community banks were featured in a July 8 ABC News segment for charging lower overdraft fees than bigger, national banks.

Michael Moebs, president of Moebs Services, spoke on a new survey from the research firm of 2,000 financial institutions that showed a rise in the cost of overdraft fees.

"We see a big gulf between what I like to call the Wall Street banks and the community banks and credit unions," Moebs told the reporter, adding big national banks charge $33 while credit unions and community banks charge between $25 and $27. Banks have collected $36.7 billion in overdraft fees, more than triple the amount collected in 1992 at $11 billion.

Nessa Feddis, senior counsel in the government relations division of the American Bankers Association, told ABC News that overdraft fees are intended to encourage people to manage their checking accounts.

"It's not that different from a parking ticket. If the fee for parking in a fire lane were $5, fire trucks would have a lot harder time getting through," Feddis said.

Transaction sorting, which is the practice of clearing charges in any order, is becoming more common at banks, ABC News reported. Critics have said it may lead to overdrafts that are beyond the customer's control. Feddis defended the activity saying "some banks will pay the high-dollar transactions first on the basis that those are the most important transactions like a mortgage or rent."

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ABC News Report Compares CU, Bank Overdraft Fees

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