Today, your bank is issuing time deposits at rates significantly below what they were just a few years ago and renewing CDs at a lesser rate than they were just last term.

What to do with all those deposits? It’s a problem banks of all sizes are wrestling with in this curiously sluggish economy.

The introduction of the $5 debit card fee and its subsequent withdrawal can teach us two lessons: one, consumers are very sensitive to any additional banking fees, and two, there are more productive ways to improve the bottom line through a reduction in interest expense.

Let’s face it, consumers are not rational in their purchase and use of checking accounts.

Retail banking is facing an unprecedented “revenue drought” under the twin pressures of regulatory reform and a sustained low-rate environment.