ABOUT ASSEMBLYMEMBER SCOTT STRINGER

Assemblymember Scott Stringer is a native New Yorker who was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 1992 after more than a decade of political involvement and neighborhood advocacy. Stringer represents the 67th Assembly District on Manhattan's West Side.

Stringer is the Chair of the New York State Assembly Committee on Cities and serves on the Education, Health, Higher Education, Housing, and Judiciary Committees. Stringer is also a former Chair of the Real Property Taxation Committee, the Assembly Oversight, Analysis and Investigation Committee and the Task Force on People with Disabilities. Stringer is also a member of the Assembly Task Force on Women's Issues.

Stringer has released the following research reports:

• "NYC Public Housing Policy Brief," December 2003
• "Failing Grade: Health Education in NYC Schools," June 2003
• "Faces of the Budget Crisis: How Much Pataki's Budget Really Costs NYC Families," February 2003
• "Total Collapse: How NYC Department of Buildings Failed Policies Contribute to Crumbling Buildings," November 2002
• "Report on Assessor Practices and Assessment Administration in New York City," May 2002
• "Reading is Fundamental: The Textbook Shortage in New York City's Public Schools," April 2002 (with an update issued in April 2003)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CREDITS

Assemblymember Scott Stringer prepared this report with the help of his staff:
Alaina Colon, Policy & Communications Director
Felicia Feinerman, Legislative Director
Jason Haber, District Coordinator
John Simpson, Director of Constituent Services
Susannah Vickers, Chief of Staff

With special recognition to office intern Wilson Li for his important contribution to this report.

Thanks also to Franz Leichter, former New York State Senator; Mark Green, former Public Advocate of New York City; and Glenn Von Nostitz, the Deputy for Research & Investigations for former Public Advocate Mark Green.

For additional copies of this report, please contact Assemblymember Stringer's office by: Phone: (212) 873-6368; Email: strings@assembly.state.ny.us.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

METHODOLOGY

1. Low-Balance Customer
2. Mid-Balance Customer
3. High-Balance Customer
4. Computing the Rankings

CHANGES SINCE 2000

1. Low-Balance Customer
2. Mid-Balance Customer
3. High-Balance Customer
4. Interest Yields Drop
5. Fees Continue to Rise
6. Stop Payment Fees
7. Mergers

HOW NYC BANKS COMPARE

1. The Top Fives
2. Free Checking Accounts
3. Free Savings Accounts
4. Point-of-Sale Fees
5. ATM Fees
6. Balance Inquiry Fees
7. Other Services
8. Overdraft Protection
9. Online Banking
10. Convenience

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX A: Overall Rankings

APPENDIX B: Rankings by Customer Category

APPENDIX C: Stop-Payment Fees

APPENDIX D: Point-of-Sale Fees

APPENDIX E: Overdraft Protection

APPENDIX F: Number of ATM Locations at Each Bank

APPENDIX G: Checking Accounts

APPENDIX H: Savings Accounts

APPENDIX I: Other Fees and Services

APPENDIX J: ATM Fees and Accessibility

APPENDIX K: Balance Allocations

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Overall banks in New York City are much more expensive for consumers this year compared to their performance in 2000. Low-, mid- and high-balance customers all see drops in annual net financial earnings due to lower interest yields, higher fees, along with additional account restrictions.

Net Annual Earnings for Low-Balance Customers

BEST Abacus Federal Savings Bank1 $1.77 WORST North Fork Bank -$190.27 Difference $192.04

Net Annual Earnings for Mid-Balance Customers

BEST Doral Bank $18.28 WORST Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh -$90.00 Difference $108.28

Net Annual Earnings for High-Balance Customers

BEST Sterling National Bank $202.35 WORST Apple Bank $12.33 Difference $190.02

Interest yields have dropped across the board. Savings accounts in 2000 yielded between 1% and 3.54% per year. This year, the yield for savings accounts ranges from 0.1% to 1.6%. Banks fees, such as ATM and transaction fees, continue to rise as well. The average stop-payment fee in 2000 was $14.80; the average fee this year is $20.68.

The rankings clearly show that free checking accounts are a huge advantage over regular checking accounts. Within regular checking accounts, banks often raise the monthly maintenance fee by $6 or more per month when the customer exceeds the transactions limit. Thus, if a low-balance customer at one of these banks makes eleven or more transactions per month, the customer will face over $100 in fees per year. However, exceeding transaction limits are not the only fee traps. Many consumers are not aware that fees can also accompany debit card purchases.

Of all the different charges, ATM fees play a predominant role in determining the rankings. As such, seven out of the eight banks that do not charge their customers for using other banks' ATMs are in the top ten of the final ranking.

The Scorecard survey further reveals seventeen banks that charge their customers a fee for certain methods of keeping track of account balances. While most of these fees are for balance inquiries at other banks' ATMs, it is important for consumers to be aware of all imposed charges. Various fees also accompany additional services such as overdraft protection and online banking.

Convenience factors, such as the number of ATM locations and accessibility of customer service representatives, do not affect the rankings, but may weigh in on a customer's choice of bank. It is for this reason that we offer these rankings as a guide to help consumers make more informed decisions on banking services. Whether you have a lot or a little money to deposit and invest, banks are continuing to get more expensive. Although the top ranked banks may not be the most well known, it is clear from this survey that New Yorkers have a lot of banking options. With this Scorecard, I hope consumers are able to easily discern which banks best suit their financial needs.

INTRODUCTION

The Ranking Banking Scorecard is the only resource of its kind for New York City consumers that provides the essential information needed to shop for banking services and avoid many of the hidden costs. The 2004 Scorecard is the result of thirty-seven surveys completed by banks serving the five boroughs of New York City. The Scorecard has a long history of providing consumers useful comparisons between banks using accurate and timely data. In 1984, State Senator Franz S. Leichter originated the Scorecard and, starting in 1990, Senator Leichter and then-New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Mark Green jointly issued the survey. After a three-year hiatus, the Scorecard comes out of its brief retirement. This year, Assemblymember Scott Stringer continues the tradition with a newly renovated 2003-2004 edition, reflecting the changing trends in the banking community.

The 2004 Scorecard ranks thirty-seven banks² located in the five boroughs of New York City based on the costs and benefits to three hypothetical customers at each of these banks over the course of one year. The Scorecard distinguishes the three customers by their balance ranges for the year:

1. Low-balance customer: $250 to $1,000
2. Mid-balance customer: $2,100 to $3,300
3. High-balance customer: $12,000 to $13,000

Each customer type opens an account(s) at each bank. The Scorecard assumes certain levels of banking activity for each customer, while managing the accounts so as to incur the least amount of fees and to maximize interest. This process allows each customer to find out the benefits and burdens of banking with each institution. The Scorecard credits the interest each customer earns throughout the year, and then subtracts the costs incurred from fees such as monthly maintenance fees and ATM charges. For each individual account, the Scorecard ranks the banks according to the year-end gains and losses and combines the individual ranks for a final ranking.

METHODOLOGY

As stated above, the Scorecard uses three customer categories to calculate the annual gains and losses with each bank. Within each customer category, the balance changes throughout the year. Yet, those changes are identical at every bank. The Scorecard allows for flexibility in allocating portions of the balance between accounts to maximize the customer's gains and minimize the customer's losses.³ Allocation of deposits places a priority on maintaining a checking account, and opens a savings account only if there is enough money left over after meeting the bank's minimum balance requirement to open a checking account. Below are the guidelines for splitting deposits between accounts, but the need to meet minimum balance requirements supersedes those guidelines. Furthermore, each model customer also makes a fixed number of transactions every month. These activities are not modified to fit any requirements.

Low-Balance Customer

A low-balance customer's balance is $750 for eight months ($400 in checking/$350 in savings), $1,000 for the next two months ($400 in checking/$600 in savings), and $250 for the last two months ($100 in checking/$150 in savings). The customer makes eleven withdrawals per month, eight of which are by ATM and three of which are by check.⁴ The formula assumes that the customer makes half of the ATM withdrawals at another bank's ATM.

Mid-Balance Customer

A mid-balance customer's balance is $2,600 for eight months ($800 in checking/$1,800 in savings), $3,300 for the next two months ($1,000 in checking/$2,300 in savings), and $2,100 for the last two months ($600 in checking/$1,500 in savings). The customer will invest in a $1,000 one-year certificate of deposit (CD) or open a money market account in lieu of a savings account depending on the best interest yield. The customer makes fourteen withdrawals per month-ten by ATM, four by check. Half of the ATM withdrawals are at another bank's ATM.

High-Balance Customer

A high-balance customer's balance is $13,000 for eight months ($3,000 in checking/$10,000 in savings) and $12,000 for the next four months ($2,000 in checking/$10,000 in savings). When possible, this customer opens an interest-bearing checking account. This customer invests the savings balance in either a one-year CD or a money market account depending on the best interest yield. This customer makes the same number and types of withdrawals as the mid-balance customer.

Computing the Rankings

The Scorecard calculates earned interest by using each bank's annual percentage yield (APY) as of October 1, 2003. Fees for the year are subtracted from the total earned interest. The rankings depend on the resulting net gains or losses, or in the case of stop payments and point-of-sale fees, by the cost of the service. The formula⁵ for the final score calculation is:

Final Score = (10 x Low-Balance Rank) + (10 x Mid-Balance Rank) + (5 x High-Balance Rank) + (0.5 x Point-of-Sale Fee Rank) + (0.5 x Stop-Payment Fee Rank)

CHANGES SINCE 2000

Overall banks perform far worse this year compared to their performance in 2000. Low-, mid- and high-balance customers all see drops in annual net financial earnings due to lower interest yields, higher fees along with additional account restrictions.

Table 1: Overall Top Five Banks, 2004 v. 2000

2004 2000

1. Doral Bank Marathon National Bank 2. Ridgewood Savings Bank Amalgamated Bank 3. Fourth Federal Savings Bank Maspeth Federal Savings 4. Chinatrust Bank (USA) Fourth Federal Savings Bank 5. Abacus Federal Savings Bank Brooklyn Federal Savings Bank

While the lowered earnings vary among banks, the Scorecard shows that all consumers should research available account options at different banks depending on their respective banking habits.

Low-Balance Customers

Low-balance customers lose out this year. Low-balance customers see a median loss of $69.17 for the year, compared to a loss of $44.85 in 2000. At the five best-performing banks in their category, low-balance customers lose an average of $13.61 this year, compared to an average gain of $0.96 in 2000. At the five worst-performing banks in their category, low-balance customers lose an average of $162.06 this year, compared to an average loss of $130.46 in 2000.

Mid-Balance Customers

Mid-balance customers are also hit hard this year. Customers in this category take a median loss of $41.31, compared to a median gain of $37.50 in 2000. At the five best-performing banks in their category, mid-balance customers gained an average of $81.03 in 2000, compared to an average gain of $16.75 this year.

Table 2: Overall Bottom Five Banks, 2004 v. 2000

2004 2000

1. Apple Bank Fleet Bank 2. Fleet Bank GreenPoint Savings Bank 3. North Fork Bank Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh 4. Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh Dime Savings Bank of New York 5. Cross County Federal Savings Bank Chase

At the five worst-performing banks in their category, the average loss rose from $19.95 in 2000 to an average loss of $84.26 this year.

High-Balance Customers

High-balance customers round out a year of poor performance, or in this case severely reduced gains. In fact, the lowest gain for 2000 ($305.13) far surpasses the highest gain ($202.35) for this year. Customers in this category see a median gain of $107.67 this year, compared to a median gain of $513.97 in 2000. At the five best-performing banks in their category, high-balance customers gain an average of $176.77 this year, trailing far behind an average gain of $608.88 in 2000. At the worst-performing banks in their category, high-balance customers gain an average of $31.68 this year, compared to an average gain of $391.65 in 2000.

Interest Yields Drop

Interest yields have dropped across the board. Savings accounts in 2000 yielded between 1% and 3.54% per year. This year, the yield for savings accounts ranges from 0.1% to 1.6%. CDs ranges from yields of approximately 4% to 6% in 2000, but range only 0.7% to 2.13% this year, with a median of 1.16%. All but seven banks in 2000 had interest-bearing checking accounts with annual yields higher than 1%; the median was approximately 1.3%. Only five banks this year have interest-bearing checking accounts with yields of greater than 1%; this year's median is 0.25%. This decrease in interest impacts mid-balance customers the most as the interest earned is not sufficient to offset the impact of the fees. Mid-balance customers gained money at forty-one of the forty-six banks in 2000, but they can expect to lose money at twenty-six of the thirty-seven banks surveyed this year.

Fees Continue To Rise

Banks rely on ATM fees more than ever. Only eight banks do not charge accountholders fees for using another bank's ATM (known as foreign ATM fees), which is a reduction from ten such banks in 2000.⁶ Six other banks waive the foreign ATM fee for customers who meet the minimum balance requirements for at least one type of account. However, eleven banks now have higher foreign ATM fees than they had in 2000. Foreign ATM fees now range from $0.75 to $1.75, as contrasted with $0.60 to $1.50 in 2000. The average foreign ATM fee (including banks that allow free foreign ATM transactions) is $0.91 versus $0.75 in 2000.

One way to avoid ATM charges is to use your ATM card or debit card for point-of-sale transactions. A point-of-sale (POS) transaction is executed when a customer uses his or her ATM card to pay for a purchase at a store. The amount of the purchase is deducted directly from the customer's checking account. The fee for such a transaction is generally less than the fee for using a foreign ATM. Some banks have increased POS fees from $1.00, their highest level, in 2000 to $1.50 this year. Yet, a few others now offer this service for free.

Stop Payment Fees

Banks charge stop-payment fees (SPF) when a customer wants to prevent the payment of a check. SPF fees have risen considerably since 2000. The average fee in 2000 was $14.80; the average fee this year is $20.68. Twenty-two banks raised their SPF since 2000, some by as much as $15. Fees for stopping payment on a check range from $10 to $30 this year, compared to $8 to $25 in 2000. The Scorecard takes these fees into account in determining the rankings. Please see Appendix C for a full listing of the fees the banks charge for this service.

Mergers

The following mergers took place after the surveys were completed: Roslyn Savings Bank was acquired by New York Community Bank on October 31, 2003; Staten Island Bank & Trust was acquired by Independence Community Bank on November 25, 2003; and GreenPoint Bank was acquired by North Fork Bank on February 16, 2004.

HOW NYC BANKS COMPARE

Table 3: Best Banks for Low-Balance Customers Net Earnings 1. Abacus Federal Savings Bank $1.77 2. Chinatrust Bank (USA) -$2.85 3. Doral Bank -$4.56 4. Fourth Federal Savings Bank -$30.00 5. Amalgamated Bank -$32.40

A. The Top Fives

Table 3 to the right lists the best and worst performing banks for low-balance customers. Abacus Federal Savings Bank produces a deceptively good outcome because it requires at least $1,000 to open a checking account, which the model customer does not have. As a result, the customer allocates their total balance to a savings account, and thus avoids the checking fees that equivalent customers at other banks must incur. However, the low-balance Abacus Federal Savings Bank customer cannot write checks or use ATMs, which puts them at a disadvantage compared to other customers.

Chinatrust Bank (USA) offers a no-minimum checking account that allows customers to write ten free checks per month. After customers surpass this transaction limit, they face a monthly maintenance fee of $3 and a per-check fee of $0.25. However, Chinatrust Bank (USA) allows customers the option to make withdrawals at ATMs to avoid those fees. Doral Bank offers free no-minimum checking, but the penalty for going over the minimum balance requirement for its savings account, at $4, is slightly higher than Chinatrust Bank's $2 fee. Fourth Federal Savings Bank has a regular checking account with a minimum balance of only $500, so its customer saves on fees by moving the entire balance to the checking account to maintain the minimum balance requirement. Amalgamated Bank offers unlimited free checking and savings accounts, but came in only fifth for low-balance customers due to foreign ATM fees, a convenience for which the aforementioned banks do not charge.

Table 4: Best Banks for Mid-Balance Customers Net Earnings 1. Doral Bank $18.28 2. Staten Island Bank & Trust $18.27 3. Ridgewood Savings Bank $16.46 4. Commerce Bank $15.68 5. Fourth Federal Savings Bank $15.04

For mid-balance customers this year, Doral Bank ranks on top by a hair. It offers an interest-bearing checking account, a better-than-average rate (0.25%) on its savings account and one of the highest yields (1.9%) available for its one-year CD. Staten Island Bank & Trust follows close behind, with no interest-bearing checking accounts but solid yields from its CD (1.2%) and savings accounts (0.75%). Ridgewood Savings Bank has one of the highest savings account yields available (1.25%), but imposes a minimum balance fee of $3 per month when the linked balance falls below $2,500. Commerce Bank and Fourth Federal Savings Bank have lower yields than other banks at 0.5% and 0.25% respectively, but the customer easily meets the minimum balance requirements, and does not face any ATM fees.

	Table 5: Best Banks for High-Balance Customers Net Earnings 1. Sterling National Bank $202.35 2. Doral Bank $196.67 3. Ponce De Leon Federal Bank 165.00 4. Ridgewood Savings Bank $160.46 5. Country Bank $159.35

Sterling National Bank is the best bank for high-balance customers this year, predominantly due to the strength of its CD yield, which leads all banks at 2.13%. Doral Bank supplements a high CD yield of 1.9% with an interest-bearing checking account. Ponce De Leon Federal Bank offers high CD and checking accounts yields, at 1.98% and 1.01% respectively, but charges a $1.00 fee for foreign ATM transactions. Ridgewood Savings Bank has a high yield for its interest-bearing checking account at 1.02% (for balances above $2,500) and no fees, but its CD yield, at 1.35%, is much lower than the highest-ranked banks. Country Bank combines above-average yields on both its interest-bearing checking account (0.50%) and CD (1.46%) to round out the top five banks for high-balance customers.

B. Free Checking Accounts

Table 6: Banks with Free Checking Astoria Federal Savings City & Suburban Federal Savings Bank Commerce Bank Doral Bank Flatbush Federal Savings & Loan Flushing Savings Bank GreenPoint Bank Independence Community Bank M & T Bank New York Community Bank Northfield Savings Bank Ponce De Leon Federal Bank Roslyn Savings Bank Washington Mutual

Several banks offer checking accounts with no minimum balance and unlimited transactions. Free checking accounts are a huge advantage over regular checking accounts. Most regular checking accounts have minimum balance requirements ranging from $500 to $2,500. The basic banking or "lifeline" accounts, required by the New York legislature, have no minimum balance requirement but often charge a $3 per month maintenance fee and only permit eight free withdrawals every month. Furthermore, lifeline accounts at Bank of New York, Fleet Bank, Chase, and North Fork Bank raise the monthly maintenance fee to $9 or more per month when the customer exceeds the transactions limit. Thus, if a low-balance customer at one of these banks makes eleven or more transactions per month, the customer will face over $100 in fees per year. For someone with under $1,000 in the bank, these fees are devastating. Customers in this category should definitely look for banks with free checking accounts if available.

C. Free Savings Accounts

Table 7: Banks with Free Savings Accounts Amalgamated Bank Atlantic Bank of New York Cross County Federal Savings Bank

Only three banks surveyed offer free savings accounts with no minimum balance requirements. This feature allows for a lot of flexibility, particularly for low-balance customers.

D. Point-of-Sale Fees (POS)

Table 8: Banks with No Point-of-Sale Fees Amalgamated Bank Atlantic Bank of New York Banco Popular Bank of New York Chase Chinatrust Bank (USA) Citibank City & Suburban Federal Savings* Commerce Bank Country Bank Doral Bank Fleet Bank Flushing Savings Bank* Fourth Federal Savings Bank GreenPoint Bank* Independence Community Bank Maspeth Federal Savings New York Community Bank* Ponce De Leon Federal Bank Ridgewood Savings Bank State Bank of Long Island* Staten Island Bank & Trust Sterling National Bank Washington Mutual *See notes below.

Most customers, regardless of balance levels, enjoy using their ATM or Debit cards to make payment. However, many are not aware that a fee accompanies POS transactions. Twenty-four out of the thirty-seven banks (see Table 8) surveyed offer some means for all customers to execute a POS transaction without a fee. The fee for POS transactions, when imposed, is usually $1 or less. Thus, POS transactions are usually safer options than using a foreign ATM, a typical cost of between $2 and $3 at most banks.

There are two types of POS transactions. The first requires the customer to confirm the transaction by typing in an assigned personal identification number (PIN) at an electronic reader. The second type requires the customer to obtain a debit card and confirm the transaction by signature, as one does with a credit card. There are five banks that offer one means of paying for free, while charging for another. Flushing Savings Bank does not charge for payments confirmed by the PIN method, but charges $1 for each payment confirmed by signature. City & Suburban Federal Savings, GreenPoint Bank, and State Bank of Long Island charge $1 for using the PIN, but do not charge for the signature method. New York Community Bank charges $1.50 for using the PIN, but does not charge for debits. Furthermore, Astoria Federal Savings (not listed in Table 8)⁷ only waives POS fees for customers with linked accounts. Please note that Abacus Federal Savings Bank does not offer ATM cards to their customers and thus does not allow customers to make POS transactions.

Table 9: Banks with No Foreign ATM Fees Chinatrust Bank (USA) Commerce Bank Country Bank Doral Bank Fourth Federal Savings Bank Ridgewood Savings Bank Staten Island Bank & Trust Sterling National Bank

E. ATM Fees

ATM fees play a significant role in determining the rankings. As such, seven out of the eight banks listed in Table 9 are in the top ten of the final ranking. Beside these eight that never charge foreign ATM fees, there are other banks that waive such fees if the customer satisfies some account or minimum balance requirements. Astoria Federal Savings waives foreign ATM fees for customers who open linked accounts. The Bank of New York, Citibank, and Flushing Savings Bank waive the fee for any customer who meets all minimum balance requirements. Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh waives the fee for any customer who can maintain a linked account with a balance of over $3,000. Chase waives the fee if their customer meets the minimum balance requirements of interest-bearing checking or money market accounts. Also, Amalgamated Bank allows nine foreign ATM transactions per month if the

Table 11: Banks that charge for balance inquiries Fee per inquiry* Carver Federal Savings Bank $0.50 Washington Mutual $0.50 Amalgamated Bank $0.75 Apple Bank $1.00 Astoria Federal Savings $1.00 Banco Popular $1.00 Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh $1.00† Emigrant Savings Bank $1.00 Fourth Federal Savings Bank $1.00 by phone GreenPoint Bank $1.00 HSBC $1.00 at foreign ATM, $0.50 at own ATM† North Fork Bank $1.00 Atlantic Bank of New York $1.50 Fleet Bank $1.50 New York Community Bank $1.50 State Bank of Long Island $2.50 by phone *foreign ATM inquiries unless otherwise indicated. †waived for certain accounts; see left

customer's combined balance is over $3,000, and awards more free transactions for higher balances. It is important to note that when the accountholder's own bank waives the foreign ATM fee, the ATM owner can still apply its own surcharge to the user.

Washington Mutual is the only bank surveyed that provides free ATM use at all of their ATM locations for non-accountholders. The Bank of New York and Doral Bank have some free ATMs locations for non-accountholders, but not all of them are free. Although these banks' ATMs do not apply a surcharge for the transaction, the customer's own bank may still apply a charge.

F. Balance Inquiry Fees

Table 12: Banks that List ATM or POS Fees Separately from an Item's Purchase Price in Accountholders' Monthly Statements Amalgamated Bank Apple Bank Astoria Federal Savings Atlantic Bank of New York Banco Popular Bank of New York, The Carver Federal Savings Bank Chase City & Suburban Federal Savings Cross County Federal Savings Bank Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh Emigrant Savings Bank Flatbush Federal Savings & Loan Fleet Bank Flushing Savings Bank GreenPoint Bank HSBC M&T Bank Northfield Savings Bank Ponce De Leon Federal Bank Roslyn Savings Bank State Bank of Long Island Washington Mutual

Balance inquiry fees do not affect the position of banks in the final ranking. However, customers may want to consider such fees in selecting banks. The Scorecard survey reveals seventeen banks that charge their customers a fee for certain methods of keeping track of account balances. Most of these fees are for balance inquiries at foreign ATMs, although Fourth Federal Savings Bank and State Bank of Long Island only charge for inquiries made over the phone. Two banks-Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh and HSBC-waive the inquiries fee for certain customers. For example, Dime Savings Bank waives the fee for customers with at least $3,000 in a linked account. At HSBC, the fee is waived for customers with either an interest-bearing checking account or an ExtraVantage (linked) checking account.

G. Other Services

Some consumers claim that banks are inventing overly-complex fee structures that make it more difficult for to compare accounts. Detailed fee schedules are mandated by the Truth In Savings Act of 1991 to describe all checking, savings and miscellaneous fees. The purpose of the 1991 Truth-in-Savings Act was to improve disclosures to consumers so that they can better compare financial services at different banks. Table 12 shows which banks list ATM or POS fees separately from an item's purchase price in accountholders' monthly statements.

Many people living in New York City are unable to deposit money in banks due to immigration barriers. As show in Table 13 below, thirteen banks accept Foreign Consulate Cards, or identification cards used by various undocumented immigrants, as a valid sourced source of identification to open a bank account. Supporters of the

	Table 13: Banks that Accept Foreign Consulate/Consular Cards as a Valid Source of ID for Undocumented Immigrants to Open an Account Apple Bank Banco Popular Chase Chinatrust Bank (USA) Citibank City & Suburban Federal Savings Cross County Federal Savings Bank Emigrant Savings Bank Flushing Savings Bank Independence Community Bank Ridgewood Savings Bank State Bank of Long Island Washington Mutual

consular cards claim that undocumented immigrants, who often work in the lowest-paying jobs, need the ability to bank in New York City. In essence, the card allows undocumented immigrants to bank, save and send money back to their relatives abroad.

H. Overdraft Protection

Thirty banks provide overdraft protection, or a service that allows the customer to pay off a check that exceeds the amount of the customer's checking balance. After a customer applies for and is approved for this service, each time the customer overdraws the checking account, the bank pays the overdrawn amount from a line of credit. The bank, like a credit card company, starts charging interest on the owed amount. The interest accumulates until the customer completely pays off the overdraft. Three banks charge an annual fee for using the line of credit, and other banks also charge an additional daily fee until the customer completely pays off the overdraft. Also, several banks charge lower interest rates for customers who open linked accounts, and Bank of New York offers its lowest interest rate (prime + 7.75%) to customers with linked accounts and an outstanding overdraft balance greater than $1,500.

Table 11: Banks that Do Not Offer Overdraft Protection Abacus Federal Savings Bank Carver Federal Savings Bank Chinatrust Bank (USA) Cross County Federal Savings Bank Flatbush Federal Savings & Loan Fourth Federal Savings Bank Roslyn Savings Bank

To protect against overdraft, banks also offer customers the option of linking checking and savings accounts. When the customer overdraws a check, this method allows the bank to transfer the overdrawn amount from the savings account to the checking account. However, these banks usually charge a sizeable flat fee to use this service, ranging from $5 to $30 per overdrawn check. Please see Appendix E for additional details about each bank's overdraft protection loan rates and fees.

I. Online Banking Services

Table 12: Banks with Free Online Billpay for All Customers Citibank Commerce Bank Doral Bank Emigrant Savings Bank Fleet Bank Flushing Savings Bank HSBC Independence Community Bank Chase Sterling National Bank

Thirty-one banks surveyed now provide some kind of online service. Online banking allows customers to check their balance at any time of the day and transfer funds, usually for free. Most online banking services also include "Billpay" capabilities, an optional service that allows customers to pay bills over the Internet. This service can cost anywhere from $2.95 to $6.95 a month. Only ten out of thirty-seven banks provide online Billpay for free for all customers (see Table 12). The Bank of New York only offers free online Billpay for customers with linked accounts totaling over $5,000. Online banking may also allow customers to set up recurring or pre-dated bill payments. Yet, one drawback to the online Billpay feature is the inability for customers to use their overdraft protection.

J. Convenience

Convenience factors, such as the number of ATM locations and accessibility of customer service representatives, do not affect the rankings, but may weigh in on a customer's choice of bank. It is for this reason that we offer these rankings as a guide to help consumers make more informed decisions on banking services. Please see Appendix F for a list of the number ATM locations for each bank included in this report.

CONCLUSION

Most comparisons available on the banking industry are based on market share or financial performance. However, it is very important for all types of consumers to be able to easily discern which banks best suit their financial needs. The purpose of this scorecard is to offer retail banking consumers citywide a user-friendly and substantive resource for comparing financial services among banks.

New York City, as the second largest banking market in the country, houses a large variety of banks. While dominating banks like Chase and Citibank still maintain the largest volume of customers (their share of banking deposits is 24% and 28% respectively), many of the smaller banks like Commerce and Washington Mutual have attracted new customers by offering free checking accounts or expanding the number of branches exponentially. Accompanying such rapid change is the need for real analysis.

The rankings outlined in this report are meant to be a guide to help consumers make informed decisions. I hope this Scorecard provides useful analysis, presents new options, and results in better service for all New York City consumers.