BB&T unveils 'concise' disclosures for accounts

BB&T is providing customers with streamlined disclosures for its accounts and fees, patterning the breakdowns on a template recommended two years ago by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Winston-Salem-based bank said Thursday.

In doing so, the bank joins others that have changed their forms after a 2011 report by the Philadelphia-based think tank found that the median length of banks' disclosures for checking account policies and fees was 111 pages. Pew, which said it reviewed checking accounts offered online by the 10 biggest banks in the U.S., also found that banks' disclosures for accounts and fees were not in a concise and easy-to-understand format.

On its website, Pew lists seven financial institutions that it "commends ... for voluntarily adopting our disclosure box." At the time this blog posting was published, BB&T was not on the list, but Raleigh-based State Employees' Credit Union was. No other North Carolina-based banks made the list.

Bank of America in August introduced disclosures that it said are based on Pew's recommendations.

Donna Goodrich, deposit services manager for BB&T, said in a statement Thursday that the bank's new disclosures are a "concise resource designed to help consumers thoroughly understand each deposit product we offer, avoid fees and compare our products to others in the market."