Press Releases
March 6, 2023
Letter sent as OCC considers TD Bank’s merger bid
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several civil rights and consumer groups are calling for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to “ensure that OCC-supervised banks make necessary reforms to their inequitable overdraft programs.” Concerns about the persistence of this type of junk fee and policy prescriptions were expressed in a letter to Acting Comptroller Hsu. The letter, which is included below, was sent by the Center for Responsible Lending, Accountable.US, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, California Reinvestment...
February 7, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In tonight’s State of the Union speech, President Biden is spotlighting his Administration’s crackdown on unfair and costly junk fees generally and he is specifically highlighting the effort to curb overdraft fees. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has long called for reining in these charges.
“Overdraft fees are junk fees. Despite recent progress in addressing overdraft fees, the job is far from complete. These charges wreak havoc on household budgets,” said CRL Senior Policy Counsel Nadine Chabrier. “We applaud President Biden for highlighting their harm. The...
August 23, 2022
Proposed mega-bank would be the sixth largest in the U.S.
Federal bank regulators haven’t formally rejected a merger application in over 15 years, but Biden Administration has highlighted market concentration
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Amid growing concern about corporate consolidation, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund are leading a letter calling for the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to reject a proposed merger between TD Bank and First Horizon Bank. Their comment letter points to several reasons...
July 28, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services voted to advance to the full House legislation authored by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the Overdraft Protection Act (H.R. 4277).
“Excessive overdraft fees take advantage of families when they experience tough times, making their lives even harder,” said Nadine Chabrier, senior policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). “The Overdraft Protection Act would provide consumers with much-needed relief by requiring the cost of each overdraft fee to be reasonable, limiting how frequently the fee...
July 12, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today at 10:15 am et at the House Triangle, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) will be joined by consumer protection advocates to urge action on their legislation to crack down on predatory overdraft fees.
Center for Responsible Lending Senior Policy Counsel Nadine Chabrier, who will speak at the upcoming event, issued the following statement:
High-cost overdraft fees compound the problems of financially vulnerable families, with Black and Latino checking account holders disproportionately harmed....
February 25, 2022
Calls for federal regulators to protect all Americans from harmful overdraft fees
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Citigroup (Citi), one of the five largest banks in America, announced yesterday it will end all overdraft fees and non-sufficient fund fees (aka bounced check fees). It is the biggest bank thus far to do this.
Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Policy and Litigation Counsel Nadine Chabrier issued the following statement:
Overdraft fees kick people when they are down. Their costs are borne by financially vulnerable consumers. These fees disproportionately harm Black and Latino...
January 11, 2022
WASHINGTON, DC – Bank of America, America’s second-largest retail bank with about $2.35 trillion in assets, today announced it will reduce overdraft fees and non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees (aka bounced check fees) for its consumer banking customers.
Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) President Mike Calhoun issued the following statement:
Bank of America’s decision will provide much-needed relief for customers who least can afford the burden of overdraft fees and should lead other financial institutions to drop these fees that disproportionately impact low-income, Black and Latino...
December 22, 2021
79 Groups Ask CFPB to Provide Much Needed Oversight for Emerging Credit Products
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumer Law Center, Student Borrower Protection Center, and 75 additional organizations called for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra to carefully examine fintech credit products and fee models that are evading consumer protection laws and creating debt traps for consumers. Read their letter.
The groups applauded the CFPB for its recent inquiry into five large buy now, pay later...
December 1, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning, Capital One, America’s sixth-largest retail bank, announced a complete end to all overdraft fees and non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees (aka bounced check fees) for its consumer banking customers. It is the only bank among the ten largest to take this step.
Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) President Mike Calhoun issued the following statement:
The people who are most frequently charged overdraft are the people who can least afford it. This financial burden falls disproportionately on low-income and Black and Latino Americans. The high cost of repeat...
June 30, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) today introduced the Overdraft Protection Act of 2021. This legislation, aimed at establishing fair and transparent practices related to provision of overdraft coverage programs, would provide strong consumer protections and protect vulnerable populations from abusive bank practices.
Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Policy Counsel Rebecca Borné released the following statement:
We applaud Congresswoman Maloney for her efforts to curb abusive overdraft fees imposed by banks, which disproportionately affect low-income and...