“Banks call it a service,” the president said. “I call it exploitation.”

The Biden administration unveiled a new rule Wednesday aimed at slashing bank overdraft fees to as low as $3, a move the president said would help end abusive practices by financial institutions.

Under the proposal, banks could continue to charge fees when a customer’s account falls below zero, but either at a price in line with the bank’s actual costs to administer the overdraft or at an established benchmark created by the new rule.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed potential fees of $3, $6, $7 or $14 and is seeking feedback from banks and the public on what would be appropriate. Current overdraft fees often push $30 or more, taking a significant bite out of low-income accounts.

  • the post of tom joad
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    10 months ago

    Allow an overdraft fee to exist, and banks will find ways to make them happen. Period. There’s no need for paragraphs of explanation for a concept so brutally simple, that furthermore has been proven.

    Hell, obama addressed their predatory practices in the consumer protection act (iirc the acts name).