Big Banks Forget About Free Checking, And They're Not Regretting It

Maybe Bank of America's controversial decision a few years ago to charge for checking accounts was a smart idea after all.

Big banks continued to hike monthly maintenance fees on checking accounts over the last six months of last year, according to MoneyRates.com. The average monthly cost of fees, at banks that charge monthly maintenance fees on checking accounts, rose 11 cents to $12.54 during that period.

The rates are higher at large banks, the study said. At banks with at least $20 billion of assets, the average monthly checking account fee was $14.49.

In spite of the price hikes, big banks appear to be retaining most of their customers, said Jim Miller, senior director of banking at J.D. Power. "We just don't see customers flooding away from the big banks because they don't have free checking anymore," Miller said.

Things looked different in 2011 when B of A tried...