Pioneer of "Free Checking Accounts" Ends Them

TCF Financial, an $18 billion commercial bank based in Minnesota, was one of the pioneers of the "Free checking account." Thanks to Obama and Pelosi's new rules, TCF is doing away with this product.

"It's the end of an era," [Chairman & CEO] Cooper said in an interview. "We invented totally free checking and everyone copied it. It was a wonderful product. But the regulatory apparatus, misinterpreting what everyone wants, has changed that."

Believe it or not, banks need to make profits in order to hire and pay employees and attract capital. I expect that many banks will be following suit and consumers will be the ones ultimately paying, not some ambiguous identity called "banks" or "Wall Street."