"Courtesy overdraft protection" offered by banks is a misnomer, but financial institutions could hardly be expected to give the service a more accurate name. Nobody would sign on for "gouging overdraft protection."

The so-called protection allows customers to unknowingly overdraw their accounts and then be hit with fees that bear no relationship to the amount of the credit extended. According to the Consumer Federation of America, the typical debit card overdraft made by a customer is $20, but the typical penalty fee charged by big banks is $35 -- a figure that goes up exponentially the longer it is not paid. The nonprofit consumer advocacy group reports that fees run from $25 to $109 for a single, $10, 10-day overdraft.

Fortunately, the Federal Reserve has issued new regulations that will go into effect this summer, requiring banks to get written permission from customers before enrolling them in the programs. But that's just a start in tackling astronomical bank fees that cost consumers an estimated $24 billion a year. That's with a B.

Bills pending in Congress go further. First, they would require warnings at automated teller machines that let customers know they're about to overdraw their accounts. In addition, overdraft fees would have to be proportional to the cost of covering the overdraft, and banks would be forced to take payments out of customers' accounts in the order in which they are received rather than drawing down the largest sums first.

That's all reasonable. Today's practices are not.

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.