Across Asia, deteriorating asset quality and sluggish loan growth are squeezing bank profit margins. Come July 1 in Hong Kong, interest rates on savings accounts will be fully deregulated. The city's banks, which used to pay a uniform rate on deposits, will be forced to compete by offering higher returns. Raising fees, especially for specialized services like foreign-currency transactions, is one obvious way to plug the hole. You can't ask them to become a charity.
Service charges are necessary to their survival.
The first line of defense is to know what the charges are. Some banks are at fault here. Don't assume that you will be charged the same fee you paid last month, or that Bank A's fees are the same as Bank B's because they operate in the same jurisdiction or belong to the same parent company. Banks have different cost structures and customer strategies. This is true of banks in the same country too.