The next time you negotiate your bank fees, it might help to have some cost comparisons in hand. Phoenix-Hecht, a market-research firm, annually surveys 1,000 companies to find out what they're paying for the 41 bank services most typically used. Here's how some quoted list prices varied at major money centers and national and regional banks during 1995.
Average monthly list prices (rounded off):
| Money- center banks |
All other banks |
National Average | ||||
| Northeast | Southeast | Midwest | West | |||
| Maintenance of wholesale lockbox | $120 | $114 | $92 | $88 | $125 | $101 |
| Full account reconciliation | $124 | $75 | $76 | $57 | $98 | $80 |
| Partial account reconciliation | $80 | $45 | $52 | $39 | $52 | $52 |
| Maintenance of electronic balance reporting | $180 | $63 | $57 | $72 | $66 | $76 |
Source: 1994-95 Blue Book of Bank Prices, Phoenix-Hecht, Research Triangle Park, N.C.