Here’s pieces of an article that appeared in the “Ottawa Citizen” on January 19^th, 2012

Scotiabank joins TD in hiking Bank Fees

Changes follow big jump in profits

by Sarah Schmidt

Some bank fees are about to go up after Canada’s financial institutions posted record profits.

The Bank of Nova Scotia is set to hike the monthly fee for two of its chequing accounts by a few dollars beginning in March.

All customers with a Scotiabank chequing account with transaction limits will also notice a spike in the cost of using a Scotiabank ATM if they go over their monthly limit, to $1 from 65 cents.

TD Canada Trust recently instituted similar increases. The coming changes at Scotiabank come on the heels of a blockbuster three months for Canada’s Big Five banks. For the period ending in November (2011), the Banks made a profit of 6.3 billion.

Over the year the banks posted earnings of 22.4 billion in 2011, a big jump over the previous year. It was also a great year for bankers. The top five lenders set aside 9.3 billion in bonuses for their best performers.

Mathew Hack, 28, of Ottawa, left the world of bank fees a while ago when he first noticed service-charge withdrawals from his chequing account following his transition from a student.

Many large banks waive fees for children, student and senior accounts.

“ It really adds. It’s ridiculous” said Hack. “It’s a cash grab.”

Kerry Taylor, the author of 397 Ways to Save Money - Spend Smarter & Live Well on Less, says more consumers need to follow Hack’s lead by “firing” their bank. “ I’m always surprised that Canadians are so unwilling to fire their bank. We keep our basic chequing account with the same bank for years, and so many people are unwilling to change or make a switch. It’s not that much effort to save you hundreds - even thousands of dollars. You’ll be sending your bank a big real message; ‘Listen, I have choices in this marketplace and I’m choosing a better deal’” said Taylor.

How you bank is as important as where you bank....

If you’re like most Canadians, you manage your daily finances with a variety of chequing accounts, savings accounts, mortgages, lines of credit, loans and credit cards. This method of banking can be time-consuming and very costly but, until recently, you simply didn’t have a lot of choice. Now you do. Manulife One brings it all together to save you time and money. Others like President’s Choice Financial and ING Direct offer cheaper solutions as well, but none are as unique and all encompassing as  the Manulife One account with Manulife Bank.