On March 5, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued its final credit card late fee rule (the “Final Rule”). The timing for publication of the final rule was widely perceived as coordinated with the President’s State of the Union address, and in his March 7, 2024 address, President Joe Biden did briefly mention the Final Rule, citing the reduction of credit card late fees to $8 and adding “I’m saving American families $20 billion a year with all the junk fees I’m eliminating.”… Continue Reading

Today, the CFPB issued its final credit card late fee rule.  As we expected, the final rule was released prior to President Biden’s March 7th State of the Union address.  The final rule reduces the late fee safe harbor amount to the proposed $8 amount and eliminates automatic annual inflation adjustments for issuers subject to the reduced safe harbor amount. … 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 9th, Michael Guerrero, Partner in Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, presented at a program titled “Has the CFPB Offered Simpler Rules of the Road? Successes and Challenges with the CFPB’s Rulemaking and Non-Rulemaking Efforts During the Biden Administration”.

Panelists discussed the CFPB’s rulemaking and non-rulemaking guidance after Director Rohit Chopra’s June 2022 blog post titled “Rethinking the Approach to Regulations” in which he shared the CFPB’s aspiration to more clearly communicate the CFPB’s regulatory expectations in simple and straight-forward terms.… 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

The Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (R-NC), sent a comment letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in response to the CFPB’s notice of proposed rulemaking that would implement Section 1033 of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act and Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. The letter highlighted that statutes, regulations and guidance have not kept pace with technological advances but the proposed rule is making significant strides.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently issued a final rule increasing the asset exemption threshold under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and a final rule increasing the asset exemption threshold for the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) requirement to maintain an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan (HPML).

Banks, savings associations and credit unions are not subject to HMDA for a calendar year if their assets as of December 31 of the prior calendar year did not exceed an asset threshold.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently approved an application (Application) from the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) for alternative disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule for construction-to-permanent loans. The Application is for a Trial Disclosure Program Waiver Template (TDP Waiver Template).… Continue Reading

On October 19, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Board (“CFPB”) released a proposed rule that, if enacted, would grant consumers greater access rights to the data their financial institutions hold. Under the proposed Personal Financial Data Rights Rule (the “Proposed Rule”), bank customers nationwide would have privacy rights similar to what is afforded under the dozen state privacy laws that have been enacted in recent years. … Continue Reading