Overdrafts

While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks to cap overdraft fees, banks and credit unions are fighting the effort. Nuances that don't fit either side's narrative can get lost in the rhetoric.

Bank trade groups filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $5 overdraft fee rule from going into effect late next year.

The populist strain that has long animated the left wing of the Democratic party seems to have migrated to the Republican center, benefiting President-elect Donald Trump in this year's election. We're about to find out whether right-wing populism is as earnest as its left-wing predecessor.

There are many ways for the incoming administration to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final rule slashing overdraft late fees to $5. But the politics of nullifying the rule is a challenge to an administration that promised lower prices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule that would allow banks to either charge $5 for overdraft fees. Alternatively they can charge a courtesy fee to cover costs, or charge higher fees but send annual percentage rate disclosures to the consumer. Bank trade groups sued the bureau to stop the rule.

The availability and visibility of Bank On-certified accounts, which aim to expand banking access, is contributing to a decrease in the percentage of U.S. households that are unbanked, according to bankers and government officials.

The Vienna, Virginia-based credit union will pay tens of millions of dollars in penalties over what the agency said was "junk fees" charged to Navy Federal's customers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued guidance reminding banks that they must be able to prove that consumers have opted in to overdraft services in order to charge overdraft fees.

Currently sitting at 2,500, the in-store branch count appears fated to continue dropping, as customers opt for digital channels and banks shy away from models that emphasize overdraft.

While banks with less than $10 billion of total assets would not be forced to comply with the $14 cap, many would adopt it or make other changes to stay competitive with larger banks, survey finds.