Banks Prohibited From Charging Overdraft Fees Without Consent ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Banks earn as much as 38 billion dollars a year from overdraft fees.

But as Jonathan Shapiro reports, the Federal Reserve is aiming to change that.

Under the Fed's new rule, consumers will no longer be charged overdraft fees unless they've previously consented to the policy.

The rule hopes to protect consumers from piling up penalty fees - fees that range from 20 to 35 dollars each overdraft.

The rule officially goes into effect next July, but many banks have been expecting the announcement.

Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo enacted versions of the rule in September after coming under fire from consumer groups for excessive fees.

Atlanta-based bank SunTrust hasn't changed its policy yet, but its spokesman, Hugh Suhr, says it's in the process.

SUHR: We plan on complying with the regulation. It simply means that clients will need to opt-in proactively if they want overdraft coverage. We'll be communicating the changes to our clients up until July 1st and then make the change.

If customers don't opt in, the new rule says Suntrust and other banks will simply have to deny the transaction.

For WABE, I'm Jonathan Shapiro. © Copyright 2012, WABE