At a time when overdraft fees have reached an all-time high, Boeing Employees Credit Union had one of the lowest ratings in a recent report on how transparent banks and credit unions are when it comes to disclosing fees, including overdraft fees.

WalletHub conducted a study, looking at the checking account applications on the websites of 30 of the largest banks and five of the largest credit unions.

The financial institutions were then scored on visibility of major fees such as overdraft fees, accessibility of the fee information and clarity of fee information. If a bank or credit union had a high score then that meant that fee information was easy to find and clearly explained.

Each financial institution was scored on a 30-point scale and could earn a 10 maximum points for each category.

Boeing Employees Credit Union, along with Bank of the West and KeyBank, had the lowest transparency scores of 65 percent or less when all three categories were combined.

Boeing Employees Credit Union and State Employees’ Credit Union both had the lowest scores in the visibility category — this means that the key checking account fees, including overdraft fees, were not disclosed up front. Boeing Employees Credit Union came in last place in this category, with a score of about 60 percent.

Boeing Employees Credit Union, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, and State Employees’ Credit Union were all in the bottom five of financial institutions for not having fee information very accessible, meaning that consumers are not able to find this information on their websites very easily.

Boeing Employees Credit Union and Pentagon Federal Credit Union were in second and third lowest place in the clarity category, meaning that once fee information is located by a consumer that it’s not very easy to understand.

With banks and credit unions raking in more than $30 billion in overdraft fees annually, understanding such fees is key for consumers in making sure they avoid them.

“Most people don’t have the time or patience to comb through fee disclosures to try and compare each fee from several institutions,” WalletHub noted.

According to an FDIC bank overdraft study published in 2008, financial institutions are charging outrageous overdraft fees — ranging from $10 to $38 per overdraft transaction.

Boeing Employees Credit Union charges $25 per debit card transaction for which funds are not sufficient and the item is paid.

Several consumers turn to credit unions for their banking needs because they are non-profit organizations that they expect will have lower fees than traditional banks.

However, several credit unions, including Boeing Employees Credit Union, are now being investigated for its overdraft fee programs.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is examining overdraft fee practices and may issue new rules regarding overdraft fee programs in the coming year.

Since August 2010, banks and credit unions may not charge overdraft fees unless their customers opt-in to their overdraft protection program.

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