Banks Turn Troops Into Cash Cows With Overdraft Charges | Hillman Foundation

Clear It With Sidney

The best of the week’s news by Lindsay Beyerstein

Banks Turn Troops Into Cash Cows With Overdraft Charges

Unscrupulous lenders have always preyed on military families, who are apt to be some combination of young, preoccupied, and broke. Payday lenders dot the neighborhoods around military bases. Real banks are cashing in, too. Fort Hood National Bank regularly allows account-holders to overdraft their accounts by several hundred dollars, charging a $35 fee per overdraft. A Wall Street Journal investigation found that 3 out of 10 of the banks that collected the most overdraft fees had branches on military bases.

[Photo credit: bradipo, Creative Commons]