Finance Minister Jim Flaherty suggested Monday some banks will make changes to how they charge fees for their automated banking machines.

But Flaherty offered few details on what changes Canadians can expect following his private meeting in Toronto with bank executives.

Critics have complained that while banks' profits rise, they continue to increase the fees charged to clients when they use a competing bank's ABM for withdrawals and payments.

Flaherty said he told the banks he was concerned about the impact of fees on lower income Canadians, including seniors, students and persons with disabilities.

"I expect that some of the banks will respond to the concerns of Canadians, which I expressed to them at our meeting on this issue," Flaherty told reporters after the meeting.

He said they had a "frank and direct discussion" about the issue, but he said he did not expect a response from them as a group.

He said the bank executives told him they are six banks in competition with one another and have different business strategies.

Flaherty said the banks pointed out that some banks are more heavily invested in ABMs, while other institutions are more invested in branches.

Independently owned

Flaherty said the banks also said two-thirds of ABMs are independently owned.

The issue was sparked last month by NDP Leader Jack Layton, who launched a scathing attack on fees imposed on clients who withdraw money from their bank accounts at machines of other institutions, calling the levy of between $1.50 to $2.50 "very, very high — and unfair."

Layton estimated the big banks rake in $420 million a year in ABM fees, as they accumulated a record $19 billion in total profit last year.

The banks argue that the fees are necessary to cover the high cost of new machines and maintenance costs to keep up with technological advances and customer demand.

with files from the Canadian Press