Overdrafts

Subscribe to Overdrafts

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 in August 2017 under the leadership of former Director Cordray. … Continue Reading

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 fee when an ACH item is presented for payment from a consumer’s account and is declined due to insufficient funds in the account to cover the item. … Continue Reading

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 use of arbitration provisions to help avoid class action exposure.… Continue Reading

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.”… Continue Reading

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 practices while promoting financial inclusion.”  … Continue Reading

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 interest associated with using the service.”… Continue Reading

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 Community Reinvestment Act rulemaking, and the potential for legislative changes.… Continue Reading

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 than half of the net income of six small banks in 2020 and criticizes regulators for “tolerat[ing] banks that are mostly or entirely dependent on overdraft fees for profitability.” … Continue Reading

24 state attorneys general, the D.C. attorney general, and the Executive Director of the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection have sent a joint comment letter to the CFPB urging it not to make any changes to the Regulation E rule that limits the ability of financial institutions to charge overdraft fees for paying ATM and one-time debit card transactions that overdraw a consumer’s account (Overdraft Rule). … Continue Reading

Last week, the FDIC published its Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights that provides observations about its consumer compliance supervision activities in 2018. Importantly, the highlights include anonymized 2018 exam findings regarding violations of consumer protection laws and other information to help financial institutions stay abreast of issues and trends identified during exams and assist them in mitigating potential risks.… Continue Reading