GoWest Files Comment Letter on CFPB Rule to Minimize Overdraft Fees

Posted by John Trull on March 28, 2024

Sharing member credit unions’ serious concerns about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s misguided, proposed rule limiting minimizing overdraft fees, GoWest Credit Union Association has filed a comment letter with the Bureau. The filing is in advance of the agency’s April 1 deadline for comment letters and follows extensive outreach to credit unions through direct conversation, discussion at Governmental Affairs Committee meetings, and other forums.

“The proposed Overdraft Rule is fundamentally flawed and will not only negatively impact credit unions of all sizes, but it will also cause harm to consumers by limiting their access to not-for-profit financial institutions who provide an alternative to profit driven banks and predatory lenders,” states the letter.

• GoWest appreciates the opportunity to provide comments to CFBP and recommends the agency:Provide a blanket exemption for not-for-profit cooperative credit unions.

  Increase the proposed benchmark fees to include a $20 benchmark for smaller covered financial institutions to recognize economies of scale and more accurately reflect the cost of providing overdraft services for smaller covered financial institutions.

  Consider a tiered overdraft system that reflects the economies of scale of financial institutions.

  Evaluate the legal permissibility of the proposed rule.

Download the letter here.

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Federal Advocacy, Regulatory Advocacy.