On February 22, 2024, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued letters (the “AG Letter”) to California’s 197 state-chartered banks and credit unions warning that overdraft and returned deposited item fees may violate California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The AG Letter encourages the institutions to review their practices and policies regarding: “(1) surprise overdraft fees, which are assessed even when a consumer cannot reasonably anticipate that a debit or checking transaction will overdraw their account; and (2) returned deposited item fees, which are assessed when a consumer deposits a check that is returned, even when the consumer has no knowledge of or control over the circumstances that caused the check to be returned.”… Continue Reading

On February 6, 2024, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman Todd M. Harper spoke at a Brookings Institution event to outline his regulatory agenda and supervisory priorities for 2024. His prepared remarks addressed the 90th Anniversary of the Federal Credit Union Act, credit union performance in third quarter of 2023, risks posed by third party service providers, liquidity management, and consumer financial protection.… Continue Reading

On January 24, 2024, a week after issuing its proposed rulemaking for overdraft services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued its proposed rulemaking on non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees.

NSF Fee Proposal

Banks typically charge NSF fees when an item is submitted for payment against a consumer’s account and returned unpaid due to insufficient funds.… Continue Reading

In furtherance of the Biden Administration’s “junk fee” agenda, on January 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its proposed rule to amend Regulations E and Z to regulate overdraft services provided by “very large financial institutions” (an insured depository institution or an insured credit union that has total assets of more than $10 Billion and any affiliate thereof, as determined under 12 U.S.C.… Continue Reading

On January 8, 2024, the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) announced the launch of a new microsite, overdraftfacts.com, to demonstrate the value overdraft services provide to consumers, highlight bank-driven overdraft and non-sufficient funds (NSF) innovations and reforms that have significantly reduced consumer costs, and serve as a resource for policymakers. The microsite also includes statements from regulators, legislators, scholars, thought leaders, and the media; input about the CFPB’s planned NSF and overdraft fee rulemaking; and related industry articles.… Continue Reading

On January 3, 2023, American Bankers Association, America’s Credit Unions, and Independent Community Bankers of America wrote a letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra to address their concerns that the CFPB’s proposal for rulemaking on non-sufficient funds (NSF) and overdraft fees triggers the statutorily required Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) review as the rulemaking will have a significant economic impact on banks and credits unions with assets of $850 million or less.… Continue Reading

As we await the CFPB’s proposed overdraft and nonsufficient funds (NSF) fee rule, the CFPB issued another report, Overdraft and Nonsufficient Fund Fees: Insights from the Making Ends Meet Survey and Consumer Credit Panel. It appears this report was issued to bolster those imminent rulemaking efforts, similar to the consent order with Atlantic Union Bank earlier this month.… Continue Reading

On December 7, 2023, Atlantic Union Bank (the “Bank”) entered into a consent order with the Consumer Financial Protections Bureau (CFPB) related to its in-person and telephone overdraft opt-in sales practices during 2017-2020. The settlement requires the Bank to refund affected consumers $5 million in overdraft fees and pay a $1.2 million civil money penalty to the CFPB.… Continue Reading

During his remarks in a meeting with private sector companies on June 15, 2023, President Biden described junk fees as “these hidden charges that companies sneak into your bill to make you pay more and without you really knowing it initially.”  President Biden was joined by representatives from Live Nation, SeatGeek, xBk, Airbnb, the Pablo Center at the Confluence, TickPick, DICE, and the Newport Festivals Foundation — companies that currently provide or have committed to providing all-in pricing in response to the President’s call to action on “junk fees” in his State of the Union.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a data spotlight that shows bank overdraft/non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee revenues have declined significantly from their pre-pandemic levels.  

The report states:

Overdraft/NSF revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 alone was approximately $1.5 billion lower than in the fourth quarter of 2019 – a decrease of 48% compared to before the pandemic, suggesting an annual reduction of over $5.5 billion going forward. … Continue Reading