I have BBT checking and do not pay any fees.

We stay away from any institution owned by The Villages, We do not have our eggs in one basket when choosing institutions. No offense to any institution or anybody. Same goes for Insurance we choose AAA

My opinion: Think twice before choosing Bank of America. The main issue "now" is that many of their centers are closed to in person in bank activities. You can continue to access the ATM's, safety deposit boxes and perform basic teller functions via the outdoor drive up windows but anything more complex; no. The nearest such full service branch to the Villages is on 14th in Leesburg. i have been told that this is due to Covid.
Now there may be other banks with more convenient full service branches. You might want to fold that into your thinking.

Banking
 

We used Suntrust for a while but moved to First Ave in Pinellas for convenience and interest. We had been planning to stay away from the developers bank (just thought they had enough of our dollars already) but, after defaulting to Citizens when First Ave in TV was bought....we have been happy there and stayed. We keep enough in to avoid fees and they are very helpful & convenient. Only minor annoyance, they seem to hold large checks for longer clearing time than my banks up North. We had been chasing MM interest rates but everywhere seems dismal now so we just leave those funds at Schwab (branch is in Sumter Landing).
We looked at Vystar and Campus Credit Unions but haven't taken the plunge yet so I'm glad to see some feedback on this thread.

I have been with BB&T for several years and a very satisfied customer. No charges whatsoever. I have no knowledge of what you speak. I suspect a misunderstanding as they want new customers not lose potential customers.

Just a note of caution, we were traveling overseas when I had my wallet stolen. When I tried to contact Citizens First to ask them to stop any transactions on my debit card until I returned home, I got a message back saying they would not do anything via email. Since they didn't answer my phone calls, I had to wait until I returned home. I no longer have their debit card. As comparison, my Credit Union up North replied to my email saying that they would stop my debit card and credit card until I returned. Bottom line - Citizens First may be great for local business, their ability to handle international requests is very weak.

Citizens bank
 

Nothing against Citizens but when I checked out their mortgage interest rates and found them to higher than their competition that was enough for me to take my business elsewhere. In full disclosure, it was a few years ago.

Do NOT use a commercial bank they do nothing for you. Do not use the villages owned bank either.

I use a credit union my printed statement is free there is no fees for anything as long as there is 5:00 in another account and I believe 500 in savings and mobile banking

Why people use commercial banking I don’t know unless they have their kids a debit cards connected to the account. I’ve never used a debit card in my life I am an accountant and don’t carry debt.

There is 3 large credit unions here and they have better hours than commercial banks !

Bank of America sun trust citizens PNC all of them are crooks ! I have 2 accounts back in MI that give me such amazing service I’d be crazy to leave them. I’ve been with one for 24 years and other one 15 yrs.
Prior to recession I received almost 2% on my savings and other account 1% and a bonus every year between 500-3000!

Their rates are so low for everything that commercial banks can’t compete ! As I read horrible service I’m keeping everything in place.

I don't know about every credit union, but I stopped using my Penfed VISA credit card because they take 2 to 3 days to post a credit card charge. My BB&T VISA card posts charges within seconds of the transaction, and sends me an email. Much safer.

I have a senior account from Insight Financial (full service credit union). There are no monthly fees (as long as a VERY small amount is deposited), checks are free, full online access, etc. I taught at a Florida university before retirement, they used this institution, as do many public schools, so I felt confident it was sound ?) Very handy as they have a brick and mortar center and drive thru in the villages. I've found no reason, financial or other, to change banks.

I’ve had SunTrust for 10+ years. It will become Truist. I’ve never been charged a fee as I’m a senior and the info we have received has no mention of fees.

We have great credit unions down here in the village. No cost to anything

SunTrust and BB&T have been merged as Truist since Dec 9, 2019. But, they still use two names. I wonder why?

Upon reading other posts decided we should have a local account and set one up today with a credit union.