Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a consumer-rights law firm, today announced that it has opened an investigation into excessive overdraft penalties and other fees charged by banks on military bases following a report published by the Wall Street Journal.

The report, published Jan. 15, 2014, claimed that four of the 10 banks with the highest fees as a percentage of deposits and average fees per account have branches on military bases. The banks mentioned in the report include Fort Sill National Bank, Armed Forces Bank of California, Fort Hood National Bank, and Armed Forces Bank N.A.

Many of the banks have branches at multiple military bases. For instance, Armed Forces Bank has a branch at or near 35 different bases across the country.

"We are outraged that any bank would prey on our soldiers," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and the attorney leading the investigation. "We are investigating whether, in light of the published statistics, these banks are gouging soldiers by charging exorbitant fees and other charges."

Hagens Berman is investigating these claims at military bases throughout the nation.

Concerned soldiers, veterans or family members who were charged overdraft fees, or other unfair or excessive fees, at a bank on, or in close proximity to, a military base are encouraged to contact a Hagens Berman attorney by emailing militarybaseoverdraft@hbsslaw.com, or calling (206) 623-7292.

Additional information about the investigation is available at http://www.hbsslaw.com/cases-and-investigations/cases/Military-Base-Overdraft.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with offices nine cities. The firm has been named to the National Law Journal's Plaintiffs' Hot List seven times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. The firm's class-action law blog is located at www.classactionlawtoday.com.

Firmani + Associates
Mark Firmani, 206-443-9357
Mark@firmani.com