Overdraft fees not on CFPB rule agenda (yet?)

(Dec. 17, 2021) Six regulatory activities in 2022 by CFPB have been identified by the agency as “key” actions, according to a rulemaking agency released Monday – but action on overdraft fees was not one of them.

The bureau said the list of matters the agency plans to pursue from now through Oct. 31 of next year “reflects the continuation of significant rulemakings that further our consumer financial protection mission and help to advance the country’s economic recovery from the financial crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The key actions, the agency said are:

  • Small Business Lending Data Collection
  • Availability of electronic consumer financial account data
  • Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing
  • Standards for Automated Valuation Models (AVMs)
  • Facilitating transition away from LIBOR Index
  • Reviewing existing regulations and market monitoring

Conspicuously missing from the list of “key actions” is anything new on regulating overdraft fees at banks and credit unions. Two weeks ago, the agency signaled it would be acting on the fees with the aim, it said, of restoring “meaningful competition.” The bureau also said it would be enhancing its supervisory and enforcement scrutiny of banks that are heavily dependent on overdraft fees. “In recent years, the CFPB ordered TD Bank to pay $122 million in penalties and customer restitution, and ordered TCF Bank to pay $30 million in penalties and restitution,” the agency noted.

LINK:

Fall 2021 Rulemaking Agenda