But Stark wasn't buying it. Theoretically, in a competitive market, at least some of those lower costs should have been passed on to consumers. But that's not how the game has played out so far. And it's going to be the man on the street that's going to pay the piper in worse service and higher fees. This latest consolidation of banking power represents the biggest and boldest moves away from those laws.
Big banks mean bigger fees for consumers.
In fact, Nations Bank and Bank of America are two of the most fee-gouging banks in this country. But NBC was willing to allow another independent viewpoint some air time. So you could live in Florida, move to Texas, move to California, and never have to change your bank. I think what it really means for the big banks is they can offer different kinds of service and convenience. And the fact is, for a lot of products like credit cards and mortgages, rates are pretty competitive these days.