CFPB Issues Report on Overdarft Fees

In a report released today, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau noted that the users of overdraft coverage in checking accounts are more likely than non-users to pay hundreds of dollars in fees, in some cases beyond consumer expectations and with disclosures made in a “technical manner that may not be readily understandable.”

According to the CFPB, “…our findings with respect to the number of consumers who are incurring heavy overdraft fees or account closures and the wide variations across institutions indicate that certain practices and procedures merit further analysis to determine whether they are causing the kind of consumer harm that the federal consumer protections laws are designed to prevent. The CFPB will continue its study of overdraft programs… [which]… will help the CFPB assess whether further action is warranted…”

The report is available here.