Are the banks taking advantage of you – beware!

It can be annoying if you have a partner who is constantly changing rules and taking a lifetime to reach the phone, or is just trying to ignore you. If this is the kind of relationship your share with your bank, then you are not the only one.

Around 37% of the American citizens are satisfied with their banks and financial institutions, says a study conducted in April by a consulting firm. The customers who were part of the study group were from three of the major banks in the country. Only a mere 27% were found to be happy as per the study.

This is hardly surprising. Of late, banks have really been tightening the screws on the savings and checking accounts by inventing new fees, raising the existing ones, and also eliminating rewards as well. All of this is direct fallout of the legislation that was introduced recently, where there were changes brought about in the banking sector in the wake of the present financial crisis. The present changes have cut into the banks’ profit margins as there are caps on the overdraft fees and other charges that banks could impose on the customers. The Durbin Amendment that has been passed recently will cut the profit margins even further as there is a cap on what the banks can charge retailers when customers paid with their debits cards. The estimated loss of revenue by 2013 would be $38 billion.

Robert Hammer from the bank advisory firm R.K. Hammer states that the banks’ business models have been altered irrevocably. Hence, they seem to be looking at ways and means to make up for the lost revenue.

So, in other words, the banks are looking at you to see how all of this has affected what you would be paying and earning. MONEY looked into account options from 20 major banks and online banks, as well as the least restrictive national credit unions.

The relationship between banks and customers seems to have changed. According to the survey conducted by MONEY, the standard fees that banks charge have risen sharply. There is also an increase in new fees, and free checking is really hard to get now. Banks are no longer offering perks now. The interest rates charged by banks also vary widely according to the study. However, before you decide to stuff your money under the mattress, just remember that there are 15,000 banks as well as credit unions where you can still find suitable terms – but do your homework.