Limiting bank fees

China's bank regulators, responding to public complaints, have issued a notice voicing a crackdown on the irregular practices and service fees of commercial banks.

The number of service fees increased from about 300 in 2003 to more than 3,000 in 2010. But as the number of fees has increased so have the complaints from the public.

The net profits of the 16 listed banks in China totaled 890 billion yuan ($141 billion) in 2010 and 1.2 trillion yuan for the first nine months of 2011.