By the National Consumer Law Center
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With Federal Protections Rolled Back, States Can Take Action as Banks Increasingly Charge Struggling Families Overdraft Fees
Since the Trump Administration and Congress’s decision to roll back limits on overdraft and nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees, many of the country’s largest banks have begun to ratchet up their overdraft fee take. Overall, struggling families paid over $12 billion in overdraft and NSF fees in 2025. A new report from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) outlines steps states can take to limit fees and abusive practices imposed on the people who can least afford them. A new issue brief analyzes the 2025 overdraft fee revenue of the 20 largest consumer banks and spotlights several in the “Overdraft Hall of Shame.”
About a quarter of people live in households that pay overdraft fees each year. The fees fall disproportionately on Black households, people with lower incomes, and people with limited education.
“With Congress and the Trump Administration reversing protection against abusive and unfair bank practices that multiply overdraft fees, some banks are seizing the opportunity to turn struggling families into a profit center,” said Lauren Saunders, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “While Washington turns its back on people struggling with the affordability crisis, state leaders must seize the opportunity to push back against predatory overdraft fee practices.”
A 2024 rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was expected to save households $5 billion a year – $225 a year for families that pay overdraft fees. In the lead up to the rule, many banks had made voluntary changes to reduce or eliminate fees as a result of regulatory pressure. But the CFPB overdraft fee rule was reversed by Congress in 2025, and the Trump Administration has also reversed enforcement actions and guidance against unfair overdraft and NSF fee practices. With the federal pressure off, fees are trending up.
Several banks stand out in the 2025 data for their high or rising overdraft fee revenue:
- JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo each charged about $1 billion per year in overdraft fees in 2025.
- Much smaller PNC Bank was third, with fees up 8 percent from 2023 to 2025 to $279 million.
- USAA Federal Savings Bank, which caters to the military community, has dramatically increased its overdraft fee revenue since 2023, by a larger percentage than any other bank, primarily by introducing overdraft fees in late 2023.
- On a per account basis, Regions Bank had the most overdraft fee revenues among large banks, $30 a year on average, and many families paid far more.
- Overdraft revenues are no longer available for credit unions after the National Credit Union stopped requiring reporting of that data, but in 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union had $28 in overdraft fees per account, higher than all but one of the top 20 banks.
Notably, some national players charge no overdraft fees, including Capital One, Citibank, American Express, and Ally Bank, and none of the top 20 banks charges NSF fees.