The debit card fee fiasco at Bank of America has only intensified the pressure to generate more fee revenue, to offset the effects of the Durbin Amendment and other reform measures.

We're already seeing banks impose more fees that may or may not be all that transparent. We're getting to the point at which every action will carry some sort of fee. Lost card fees. Paper statement fees. Mobile deposit fees. Wiring fees. Fees to print out statements from ATMs. All are fair game now.

The New York Times notes research from Oliver Wyman that holds that banks need to make up $15 to $20 a month from each depositor to make up what they lost via legislation. Big banks especially have argued that they have done a lot to make sure consumers know about these fees. Bank of America, for example, had plans to impose the debit card fees only after they had publicized it for months. But the transparency argument is tough for some to take, especially retail customers.

My sense is that we may soon see the beginning a tier-ing of the market. We may see small accounts gravitate to credit unions and community banks that place an emphasis on keeping fees low, while the larger banks focus on winning larger accounts that can generate more fee revenue. But even then, banks will have to turn to actual services at some point. Even large account holders will want to see more in terms of actual service instead of a slow and steady rise in standard fees. Unfortunately, that killer service has not yet emerged.

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