StockBeat: Bank of America Joins Zero-Commission Fee Race

Investing.com – Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) on Monday joined some of its peers in cutting trading fees for its retail brokerage clients to zero.

As the war for client assets heat up, brokerages have turned to slashing trading fees as their go-to weapon.

Bank of America) is offering any customer of its Merrill Edge retail loyalty program unlimited free trades for stocks, ETFs and options.

Shares rose more than 2%, supported by a broad-based rise in banking stocks, with JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) in the green.

Several brokerages have slashed their trading commission to zero in recent weeks, including Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW), TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD), E-Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC) and Fidelity.

At TD Ameritrade and E-Trade, commissions make up about 30% of revenues, while at Schwab, commissions make up less than 10% of revenue.

With the race to zero commission fees nearing the end, some are predicting that competitive interest rates may be the next weapon of choice for brokerages in an effort to keep a lid on churn and attract more client dollars.

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