[citizenpaul]

I prefer to pay a decent fee so they make money for the service. As tech oligarchs have taught us if you are not the customer you are the product. I'd prefer to be a customer to my bank.

Banks are an odd business. You are basically guaranteed some income but the margins are slim and lots of regulations. Despite all the bad behavior they are probably one of if not the closest watched businesses by gov regulators.

[SoftTalker]

The banks are holding your money and lending it out at a profit (fractional reserve banking). You should not feel obliged to pay fees on top of this.

[imtringued]

You're arguing that banks should subsidize their payment department with the profits from their investment department when safe investments like treasuries no longer yield interest. Basically, asking that banks should take ever larger risks to subsidize your bank account, simultaneously risking your bank account in the process.

That's how you get an economy in which banks are too systematically important to fail and therefore must always be bailed out, no matter what.

[citizenpaul]

I'm no friend of the banks. What you've said is true but also the wrong conclusion. A huge percent of "account" customers lose the bank money because they are poor and never leave much in the account. How are they supposed to remain a customer rather than a product? There are 100 answers for all of this I'm just bringing up that fractional reserve doesn't necessarily mean the bank doesn't need a fee ever. The entire system needs changed though.