Negative Balance

• There are a number of ways that a person can cause their account to attain a negative balance. The person may overdraw the account, or he may accrue enough fees that his account balance becomes negative. In either case, the account will not close immediately. However, according to MarketWatch, most banks will close an account if the balance remains negative for between 30 and 60 days.
  
  

Closing For Cause

• When an account is closed by the bank due to an infraction of the bank's rules, then the account can be said to be closed "for cause." According to MarketWatch, more than 6 million accounts were closed for cause in 2006. While an account may be closed for cause for many reasons, one of the main reasons is for having an account with a negative balance.
  
  

Chex Systems

• When an account is negative for too long, not only will the bank often close the account, but it will likely report the closure to ChexSystems. ChexSystems is a financial services company that monitors the activities of account holders, particularly those that abuse accounts. If a person has an account closed for cause, this infraction will be known to other banks who subscribe to ChexSystem's service and may prevent the person from opening another account for a period of time.
  
  

Considerations

• An account holder may be able to prevent the closure of his account by contacting either the bank's customer service department or the manager of the branch where he holds the account. If the person has been a good customer and can provide a strong reason why the bank should allow the account to remain open, then the bank may forestall the closure past the usual 30 to 60 days.