O.C. BUSINESS PLUS : HEARD ON THE BEAT / FINANCIAL SERVICES : Southland Checking, Bad-Check Fees Are Higher Than the Average

Maintaining a checking account at a California bank costs more than in other states, but bouncing a check is cheaper--except in the Southland.

In California, the average monthly fee for a noninterest-bearing checking account is $8.53, according to the 1999 Annual Report to the Congress on Retail Fees and Services of Depository Institutions.

That’s about one-third more than the national average of $6.43, according to Moebs Services, the Lake Bluff, Ill., research company that conducted the study. The only states with higher monthly checking fees were Florida ($9.46) and Oklahoma ($8.89.)

But California banks on a statewide basis give their customers a break when it comes to writing bad checks. The fee for nonsufficient funds is an average of $15.85 in California, compared with $16.96 nationwide, the study found.

Customers of banks based in Southern California, can, however, expect to pay more: The average bounced-check fee in the Southland was about $17.31, according to Moebs.