Overdrafts

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In the last two weeks, both the CFPB and OCC have been critical of bank overdraft practices and the CFPB has warned of enhanced supervisory and enforcement scrutiny.  The potential costly impact that such increased scrutiny could have on private litigation is demonstrated by the recent proposed settlement in Lowe v. NBT Bank, N.A.,…

In remarks last week to the Consumer Federation of America’s 34th Annual Financial Services Conference, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu took banks to task for contributing to income and wealth inequality through overdraft programs by earning $15.5 billion in overdraft fees in 2019 that “are being paid by those customers who are the…

CFPB Director Chopra used the release of two new reports about bank overdraft practices to warn banks—and responsible executives—that they could be at risk if the banks engage in overdraft practices deemed to violate Dodd-Frank’s “UDAAP” prohibition.  Prior to the issuance of the two new reports, the Bureau’s most recent report on overdrafts was issued…

The Division of Banks of the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation has issued a supervisory alert to warn financial institutions of the potential legal and regulatory risks arising from NSF fees charged on the representment of unpaid transactions.

The alert addresses the common scenario in which a financial institution charges an NSF…

Despite having been a target for over a decade, bank overdraft practices still remain a focus of regulators and plaintiffs’ class action attorneys.  We discuss federal and state legislative, regulatory, and enforcement developments; theories currently used by plaintiffs’ attorneys to challenge overdraft practices, including retry payment claims; litigation involving alleged Regulation E violations; and the…

At the end of last month, former New York Governor Cuomo signed into law a bill that amends the state’s Banking Law to require banks to follow certain check processing practices.  The amendments become effective on January 1, 2022.

The new law applies to “consumer checking accounts” offered by “banking institutions.” “Consumer checking accounts” are…

This past Tuesday, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu appeared as a witness at the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing, “Oversight of Regulators: Does our Financial System Work for Everyone?”

In his written and oral testimony, Mr. Hsu stressed as an overall theme the need for the OCC to prohibit “predatory and discriminatory…

Afterpay, a buy-now, pay-later company, is facing a putative class action lawsuit in a California federal district court. The complaint alleges that Afterpay misled customers in representing that its services allowed customers to “pay for purchases at a later date, with no interest, no fees, and no hassle” when “there are huge, undisclosed fees and…

Mr. Hunt shares his perspective on a range of issues, including how Rohit Chopra, CFPB Director-nominee, is likely to approach his new role, the CFPB’s likely approach to innovation and overdraft rulemaking under Mr. Chopra’s leadership, how banks are engaging with data aggregators, the OCC’s role and expectations for a new Comptroller, the status of…

An article recently published by the Brookings Institution as an op-ed entitled “A few small banks have become overdraft giants” serves as a warning that bank overdraft practices are likely to face increased attention from the “new CFPB.”

Authored by Aaron Klein, a Brookings Senior Fellow, the article reports that overdraft revenues accounted for more…