Whats replacing mortgage exit fees?

SO YOU'VE heard that mortgage exit fees have been banned and banks, led by National Australia Bank, are cutting or axing many hated fees and charges.
But beware. Banks are busily replacing that lost income with new fees and higher charges.
Some are clear, upfront and easy to avoid for savvy bank customers who are prepared to compare and switch products. Others will be hidden and passed along the supply chain to consumers who will be unable to dodge them, bank analysts say. The total bank fee take last year was down for the first time, but only slightly, according to the latest Reserve Bank data.Banks raked in $4.25 billion, down 16 per cent, in bank fees levied on households, but their total fee take remained steady, falling just $14 million or less than 1 per cent."Only exception (penalty) fees have gone down," said Damian Smith, chief executive of financial comparison service RateCity.

"Other types of bank fee income have gone up to largely make up for that lost fee income.
"Ongoing fees for maintaining a mortgage have gone up, for example. In 2009, ongoing fees on mortgages listed on our database averaged $165, and now they average $240 per year. That's a rise of $75." Commonwealth Bank, ME Bank, Greater Building Society and Aussie Home Loans have announced increased upfront fees on some of their variable rate home loans recently.
Those fee increases come as exit fees disappear from the market. As of yesterday, all lenders have ceased charging exit fees on their variable mortgages, compared with just 56 per cent on June 1, according to RateCity. The highest average increase in upfront fees was $600, by the Commonwealth Bank, which lifted upfront fees across its suite of mortgages from $64 to $664 on average, Mr Smith said.
However, over the whole mortgage market, the average upfront fee on a standard variable mortgage has gone up just $32, from $374.40 in June to $406.40 now, according to data supplied by RateCity.
At the same time, early exit fees have gone down an average of $326."And upfront fees are both more readily comparable and 'negotiable' than exit fees," Mr Smith said.
Borrowers refinancing to get a better deal are a big driver of growth in the mortgage market, he said.
"We believe that removal of exit fees is the key driver behind this greater level of switching."
Fees on credit cards are changing as well and will change further as new consumer credit protection laws kick in this year.Credit card late-payment and over-limit penalty fees have gone down, but other credit card fees have gone up in recent years. "Some credit card 'exception fees' have dropped," said Mr Smith. "Others, such as ongoing fees, have increased. "For instance, in 2008, the average annual credit card fee (out of all cards that charge a fee) was $78.52, and now it's $92.45. "That's an increase of nearly $14, or around 18 per cent, in just three years, which is more than double the inflation rate over that same time."
The number of credit cards with annual fees has also risen. Three years ago, more than a quarter (28 per cent) of credit cards being offered to Australian consumers carried no annual fee.
Now just 31 credit cards, or 13 per cent, have no annual fee. Another 18 credit cards waive the annual fee if the cardholder meets a minimum spend each month, usually $1000.
Mr Smith recommends comparing your credit card rates and charges with some of the low-rate, low-fee cards now on the market.