Banks increase credit card fees

I read recently that since 1997, banks have increased their revenues on fees from credit cards by five times.

Banks are always looking for ways to satisfy their shareholders, and one of the most efficient ways of raising revenue is through fees. And that means increasing things like interest rates and annual fees on credit cards.

For me it raises the question of whether banks can justify these increases for the sake of increasing profits for what David Bell, head of the Australian Bankers' Association, calls "people who own the banks - that being mums and dads shareholders and superannuation funds."

Or does it just mean that once again it is the honest consumer that has to grin and bear the brunt of the pain?