NEW YORK – Complaints against banks are soaring, suggesting that new laws and regulations put in place since the financial crisis two years ago aren’t dampening Americans’ anger over overdraft fees and foreclosure practices they view as unfair.

If the trend continues, experts say, it will set banks on a collision course with their customers and lead to tougher rules that will hurt their earnings.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency estimates that complaints from customers of the 1,500 banks it regulates will hit 80,000 this year. That would be the highest level in the 15 years it has recorded them and more than double the 2008 total. The Better Business Bureau and state attorneys general also report big increases.

Regulators say the surge has put them on high alert. Both the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have issued new guidelines and regulators have hired additional staff as they seek to resolve each complaint. The Fed sought to head off one area of large complaints in November 2009 by prohibiting banks from charging overdraft fees on ATM withdrawals without customers’ consent.

Officials at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup told The Associated Press they are listening to their customers closely and hiring additional staff to deal with problem areas like mortgages.

Complaints about mortgages and foreclosures surged to the top spot this year. The OCC estimates that the number of grievances it will receive about home loans will almost double this year to 36,000 from 19,669 last year. That’s not surprising: Banks are fighting lawsuits over these issues in several states and are being investigated by all 50 state attorneys general on how they conduct foreclosures.

For years, most complaints were over credit cards. People said banks charged excessive fees or jacked up interest rates without warning. Last year, Congress passed sweeping legislation that prohibited card companies from arbitrarily changing rates and limited fees.

The changes already are having an effect. While credit cards are still the second-highest complaint category, they now make up just 22 percent of all complaints, down from 37 percent in 2009.