News

Local banks' fee income jumps

April 7, 2005

Pacific Business News: Money collected by Hawaii banks for fees and service charges has risen 26 percent since 2001, hitting $87.4 million last year.

Fees were once a negligible addition to the bottom line, but banks across the country are increasingly relying on charges to personal and business accounts as a steady revenue stream.

In Hawaii, money collected for service charges has risen from $64.6 million in 2001 to nearly $88 million last year at four local banks.

"There has been an increased reliance on fee income over the last 10 years," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com.

Nationally, fees accounted for 35 percent of a bank's revenue in 1995, McBride said. That figure climbed to 50 percent in 2002, he said.