Many banks charge a fee if a minimum balance isn't maintained in a checking account. Frequently this is calculated in terms of an "average daily balance", a running total of where an account holder stands every day in maintaining that minimum average. But no bank provides a way for account holders to track it themselves, nor provide the metric they use. And, as The New York Times has noted, banks frequently don't calculate the average until the end of the month.

On Friday, Somali authorities pleaded with U.S. officials to ease restrictions on wire transfers to the region after Sunrise Community Banks of Minnesota announced plans to halt the service. Due to the large number of Somalians living in that state, Sunrise handles many of these transactions. The U.S. views wire transfers to the Horn of Africa as risky because of terrorism concerns, yet thousands in famine-ravaged Somalia are dependent of them.

Former New Jersey governor and Goldman Sachs executive Jon Corzine resigned as chairman and CEO of MF Global, the brokerage firm that filed for bankruptcy on Monday. Corzine has chosen to forfeit his $12 million severance package. Under Corzine's leadership, MF Global lost two-thirds of its market value. A federal investigation is now under way after MF Global disclosed that $630 million of customer money was missing. Corzine is said to have retained a criminal defense attorney. Michael de la Merced, reporter for The New York Times' DealBook, discusses the latest developments.

Last week and today, we've been covering added charges for basic banking needs as well as the Wall St. protest movement that seems to be emerging. Tomorrow, we plan to speak to a person from a big bank — or at least, someone who represents their point of view. We want to ask them questions from listeners. What would you ask a representative of big banks? 

It's been almost a year after Congress passed the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory law and many of the legislation’s rules are behind schedule. Regulators have extended the comment periods on the rules under pressure from Wall Street and Congress. "You have a lot of people on Wall Street who are concerned that they need lots of time to put rules in effect," says Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times. However, "the longer it takes for the regulations to go into effect, the longer the banks have to make money off of the derivatives." She details the need for the bill and the cause of the delays.

Many of the big banks received huge bailouts from the government during the great recession. If they faced a crisis again, what would stop them from expecting another bailout the next time around? That question has led one Fed official, Thomas Hoenig, president of the Kansas City Fed, to raise the issue of whether big banks should be reclassified as government sponsored entities, kind of like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Obama administration is weighing a decision that could fundamentally change the way Americans buy houses. Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and other large banks are pressing the Treasury Department to allow private companies to bundle individual mortgages into securities, which the government would guarantee. Should this very public role be given to big banks? Should tax-payers be on the hook for guaranteeing mortgages?

The Goldman Sachs partnership is the most exclusive club on Wall Street. Until now, little was known about the partnership, an elite group of the bank’s senior executives that has cashed in on billions since the it was formed in 1999. The New York Times reveals the secret life of Wall Street’s highest-paid employees — and how these executives are set to benefit from stock options they received during the bleakest days of the banking crisis.

We're looking at the pros and cons of going without the use of a bank. Do you think you could live without your bank? Have you ever done it? We've been hearing from you by text message, Facebook and Twitter. 

Some home owners are putting a halt to their foreclosures by pointing to flaws in the bank's paperwork. It's even leading to some backs putting a moratorium on all their foreclosure proceedings. We're asking about the times you stood up to institutions like this. When have you faced off with your bank, your phone company, your cable provider? What happened?

JP Morgan Chase has suspended the legal proceedings around 50,000 foreclosures because the documents involved may have been processed incorrectly.

Overwhelmed by the housing crisis, mortgage companies hired employees to process foreclosure documents as quickly as possible, without ever reading, reviewing or verifying the cases before them. The process is called "robo-signing," and it accounts for an alarming number of seized homes. By some reports, these hired clerks were approving ten thousand foreclosures a month—some of them in error.

In the last two years, the world has been shaken by the financial crisis that has affected all corners of the globe. Hugh Pym, correspondent for the BBC, discusses the findings of a study that looked at global recovery in 26 countries. The study focused particularly on how we differ when it comes to budget deficits. The poll asked how citizens felt about their government taking steps "in current economic conditions" to reduce the government's deficit and debt.

We'll be talking next week about efforts to recreate banking in a post-crisis era. One new bank in Brooklyn is trying a model with no branches and no fees. Help us with a new model! What do you hate about your bank that you would like to see done differently?

While Congress rushes to complete a sweeping financial reform bill later this week, the banking industry is pulling out all the stops for a last ditch effort to undercut the Volcker Rule—a provision that allows banks to retain some of their most risky businesses. The New York Times' finance reporter Louise Story explains who wins and who loses if the Volcker rule were to be put in place.

• FINANCIAL TAKEOUT: Bank of America offered an unexpected olive branch to its millions of debit card users when they announced a plan to do away with all debit card overdraft fees. But is this public relations gambit enough to improve the bank's public image? We talk with Louise Story, finance reporter for our partner The New York Times, who brings us details from an article in today's paper.
• SPORTS TAKEOUT: The Big East tournament holds many of the major players in college basketball, and yesterday St. John's beat UCONN handily. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin joins us to take a closer look at the Big East.

Buyer beware: your bank may be trying to protect its revenue stream in the face of increased government scrutiny by adding unnecessary fees to financial instruments like your debit card. A report in today's New York Times says banks are beginning to aggressively market products like automatic overdraft protection fees. Without these fees, banks stand to lose some $20 billion annually.

• MONEY TAKEOUT:  New York Times finance reporter Louise Story parses President Obama's newest proposal to regulate U.S. banks.
• SPORTS TAKEOUT: Takeaway Sports Contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin previews the big match-ups this weekend as the Saints, Vikings, Jets and Colts battle for a spot in the Superbowl.

Citigroup announced its earnings this morning, ending a three-quarter profit streak with a $7.6 billion loss during the final three months of 2009. This as consumers still struggled to repay loans and the bank managed to repay its government bailout money.

As the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission continues hearings on Capitol Hill this week, so does the debate over regulation. The head of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Bank Bailout, Elizabeth Warren, called for sweeping regulation on the show yesterday. Today, we a get a response from the industry.