Bank of America has shelved plans for new fees that could have hit at least 10 million customers by the end of this year, skirting a potential replay of a 2011 uproar over consumer-banking charges.
Some of the biggest beneficiaries will be migrants, who have been failed by a banking system that charges them up to 20% of the sums they regularly send to support their families at home.
At BMO, where investors heaved a sigh of relief because for once there were no large, unexpected charges, investment banking earnings slumped 7.5%, while profit from retail operations was essentially flat.