Some institutions are thinking outside the box to identify alternative revenue opportunities. I’ve compiled a few examples clients have shared with me recently.

What a week for Bank of America. Their announcement that they would no longer allow customers to overdraw point-of-sale debit card transactions was no doubt a weighty decision, one measured in billions of dollars – over three billion dollars by RFG’s estimation. But while BoA was cautiously applauded by consumer advocacy groups and legislators …

Dubbed by some industry analysts as the most “unprecedented and challenging time” facing financial institutions since the Great Depression, the severity of the times may be debatable, but one thing is certain: this period has changed consumer financial behavior and their perceptions of financial institutions. Therefore, we have identified 10 critical consumer research issues to examine in 2010.

The turnaround for Tucson Old Pueblo Credit Union is still under way, but the progress to date has been exceptional. Just seventeen months ago, the credit union was struggling with loan losses from an overly aggressive indirect lending portfolio. The credit union’s president and CEO, Joe Mirachi, offered to discuss their progress over the past year.

With all the knowledge technology has enabled only fingertips away, many organizations have approached one major issue in the same for decades: They contact customers who recently left and try to convince them to come back. This “retention strategy” is a real long shot, not only after the fact, but also long past the point when the decision for change was made.

As you may remember, the Treasury Department proposed a far-reaching plan to restructure the financial services regulatory system last June. Called 21st Century Financial Regulatory Reform, the general tenor of the proposal addressed many of the 22 specific and substantive areas that the FCIC was charged to investigate.

Regardless of our political persuasion, we can all agree that accuracy is something that should be demanded from our politicians. Over the last several weeks, we have consistently heard the refrain, “We want our money back!” from President Obama in referring to banks and the TARP program. He has used this as a rallying cry for the need for financial services industry reform and additional limitations on financial service providers.

The proposed “Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee” is designed to cover the complete cost of rescue, an estimated $117 billion.

With severe economic challenges, triple-digit bank failures, mounting losses and new regulatory pressures, could the times have been any worse? However, contributors to The Raddon Report did their best to provide light in this “season of Darkness,” as they urged our readers to use this economic period as a historic opportunity to capture market share from ailing competitors and nurture existing customer relationships through differentiation.

By now, you are aware of the pending legislation and regulatory reforms to limit overdraft fees. Long story short, as of July 1, 2010, the Federal Reserve will require consumers to opt-in to overdraft protection for debit card and ATM transactions. Financial institutions will no longer be able to charge overdraft fees on debit and ATM transactions without the consumer electing overdraft protection.