Bank of America has reversed course after suffering from a torrent of criticism and bad publicity surrounding it’s $5 debit card fees.

Bank of America has abandoned plans to begin charging debit card holders five dollars a month to use their cards, a proposal which drew intense consumer and political backlash since announced in late September.

“We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee,” said Bank of America co-COO David Darnell said in a written statement. “Our customers’ voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.”

The company’s move may bring the closing chapter to a public relations campaign from major U.S. banks that has lasted more than a year, during which financial titans insisted that last year’s Wall Street reform bill had made debit cards unprofitable for banks, forcing them to charge new monthly fees.

This was a PR nightmare for them. What took them so long?