#overdraft – Federal Financial Analytics

1 04, 2024

Daily040124

Eliza Allen2024-04-01T16:24:02-04:00April 1st, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

FRB-NY: Experience Begets Overdraft Fee Knowledge

Perhaps reflecting the Biden Administration’s examination of overdraft fees, a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York staff on overdraft credit found that experienced overdrafters are roughly twice as likely to know their bank’s overdraft fee than customers who have not overdrawn in the past year. The report also finds that half of customers surveyed did not know their bank’s overdraft fee, which the report calls “potentially worrisome,” but notes that 41 percent of respondents are also indifferent to their bank’s overdraft policies.

Barr Takes Over CFPB Card-Fee Fight

As anticipated, HFSC Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chair Barr (R-KY) has introduced H.J. Res. 122, the same CRA resolution overturning CFPB’s late fee rule introduced last week by freshman Rep. Ogles (R-TN). Reports indicate poor communication between the Chair and junior member, and we expect this resolution to be the one that moves forward.

Daily040124.pdf…

29 01, 2024

CONSUMER55

Eliza Allen2024-01-29T15:15:54-05:00January 29th, 2024|1- Financial Services Management|

NSF Fees

The CFPB has followed up a controversial proposal to set prices for larger-bank overdrafts exempt from certain consumer standards with a proposal to simply ban certain non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees when banks decide in real time to decline a consumer-payment request. The Bureau readily acknowledges that banks in fact generally do not now charge NSF fees in these cases, but it fears they might and wishes to preemptively prohibit this as part of the Administration’s campaign against “junk fees.” Although the rule is aimed principally at electronic declinations, it would apply to check and ACH transactions as declination capability grows via instant-payment system adoption.

CONSUMER55.pdf…

23 01, 2024

OVERDRAFT12

Eliza Allen2024-01-23T12:13:12-05:00January 23rd, 2024|1- Financial Services Management|

Overdraft Fees

Building on a bulletin and circular from late 2022 warning banks about certain overdraft practices, the CFPB has now proposed a rule that would sharply and expressly limit fees for extensions of credit related to overdrawn transaction accounts unless the account comes under an array of consumer-protection requirements. Part of the Administration’s campaign against “junk fees,” the proposal sets a “break-even threshold based on a bank’s costs” and provides for an alternative break-even benchmark CFPB-set fee that would allow a lender to avoid costly additional regulatory requirements, expanding the Bureau’s recent focus on mandating industry pricing evident in its controversial proposal on credit-card late fees. Lines of credit and ready access to credit-card credit associated with overdrafts would also come under new limits and come under additional consumer-protection standards.

OVERDRAFT12.pdf…

17 01, 2024

DAILY011724

Eliza Allen2024-01-17T16:21:16-05:00January 17th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

CFPB Tries to Bring Overdraft Fees Under New Benchmark

Arguing that overdraft fees are a big-bank “junk-fee harvesting machine,” CFPB Director Chopra today released a long-awaited proposal to cap fees to what the agency considers a reasonable threshold.

Bowman Expands Basel Critique, Key Dem Now Points to Problems

In remarks today, FRB Gov. Bowman did not go quite as far as her colleague Chris Waller yesterday, but she nonetheless urged that the end-game rules be re-proposed after comments are taken into account.

Senate Banking GOP Again Urges Capital Proposal Withdrawal

Senate Banking Ranking Member Scott (R-SC) along with all Committee Republicans late yesterday sent a letter to FRB Chair Powell, FDIC Chairman Gruenberg, and Acting Comptroller Hsu once again calling on the regulators to withdraw the capital proposal (see FSM Report CAPITAL230).

Biden, Brown Praise CFPB Overdraft Proposal

Following the CFPB’s announcement of its proposed rule regarding overdraft fees today, President Biden again denounced “junk fees” as “exploitation,” and included the CFPB’s proposal in his administration’s efforts to lower costs for American consumers.

FRB/FDIC Provide Limited-Time Resolution-Plan Filing Flexibility

Reflecting a problem we identified in our assessment of the resolution-plan proposal (see FSM Report LIVINGWILL22), the FRB and FDIC today extended the resolution plan submission deadline for categories II and III banks from July 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025.

Global Regulators Turn to OTC-Derivative Margin Improvement

Following yesterday’s release with the CPMI focused on CCPs and clearing members, the Basel Committee and IOSCO today …

7 12, 2023

DAILY120723

Eliza Allen2023-12-07T16:42:01-05:00December 7th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

BIS: CCP Collateral Holdings Pose Systemic Risk

A new BIS study looks at the risk that the transformation of OTC markets to centrally-cleared ones has in turn transformed markets based in part on know-your-counterparty into those dependent principally on collateral backing margin positions – an inherently more fragile market structure.

White House Presses FHLB Affordable-Housing Action

In remarks today, National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard not only highlighted the Biden Administration’s actions to address housing affordability, but also mentioned plans for new financing programs.

Ambitious CFPB Regulatory Plans Come Into View

The CFPB’s fall 2023 regulatory agenda provides status updates for several significant rulemaking items.

Basel to Set IRR, Window-Dressing, Crypto Standards

The Basel Committee’s year-end meeting advanced plans to address interest-rate risk (IRR) with a concrete agreement to issue a new consultation later this month updating current global IRR standards (see FSM Report IRR7).

BIS Points to MMF Risk When Rates Rise

Another new BIS paper concludes that the record size of MMFs poses significant threat to dollar-funding market stability.

OCC Warns Banks of AI Risk, Possible Supervisory Action

Reflecting growing Congressional, regulatory, and industry concerns over AI, today’s OCC semiannual risk assessment for federal banks states that national banks should be mindful of AI risks as these fall under current supervisory procedures.

Senate GOP Goes for Gruenberg’s Jugular

Despite efforts by the FDIC to reassure critics about its independent investigation, Senate Banking Republicans today fired off a ferocious letter demanding that FDIC Chair Gruenberg immediately resign …

26 07, 2023

DAILY072623

Eliza Allen2023-07-26T16:37:20-04:00July 26th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Senate Democrats Stand Firm On “Junk Fee” Campaign

Today’s lightly-attended Senate Banking Financial Institutions Subcommittee hearing on banking and consumer fees showcased broad Democratic alignment with the Administration’s “junk fees” campaign and persistent Republican aversion to this effort as well as to the CFPB.

CFPB Flags UDAAP, Other Problematic Practices for Enforcement

The CFPB’s latest supervisory report not only details recent actions and priorities, but also expressly stipulates that certain activities identified in the course of supervision that have yet to be addressed by formal agency action are UDAAP.

SEC Targets AI Advice

Acting as anticipated following Gary Gensler’s fiery talk last week about AI risk, the SEC today voted 3-2 to propose new rules curtailing what it believes to be broker dealer and investment-adviser conflicts of interest due to predictive analytics.

Crypto-Jurisdiction Bill to Advance; Stablecoin Measure Likely to do so Tomorrow

Chairman McHenry (R-NC) and Ranking Member Waters (D-CA) announced at today’s HFSC markup that bipartisan negotiations on the committee’s stablecoin bill continue and despite the absence of any breakthrough.

DOJ Officials Seeks Merger Answers

In remarks today, Policy Director David Lawrence of DOJ’s Antitrust Division went beyond new, draft DOJ/FTC merger guidelines (see FSM Report MERGER12) to lay out questions on which the agencies particularly seek answers.

Powell Stresses Bank Discount Window Readiness

FRB Chairman Powell’s press conference today focused almost entirely on monetary policy, but the chair agreed that the discount window performed badly during the recent crisis and that banks need to …

19 07, 2023

DAILY071923

Eliza Allen2023-07-19T16:57:05-04:00July 19th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

FTC/DOJ Propose Sweeping M&A Rewrite

Following an extensive inquiry into a new U.S. merger construct, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission today released a draft formal policy statement that would codify issues previously raised in areas such as a transaction’s implications for workers.

White House Leaves Bank “Junk Fee” Attack As Is

Acting on President Biden’s competition executive order (see Client Report MERGER6), the White House today announced a slate of actions aimed at lowering consumer costs and promoting competition.

Bipartisan Senators Introduce New DeFi-AML/Sanctions Framework

Senator Reed (D-RI) yesterday introduced legislation along with Sens. Warner (D-VA), Rounds (R-SD), and Romney (R-UT) targeting DeFi-related money laundering and sanctions evasion.

Dems Reintroduce Bill Requiring Instant Consumer Deposit Access

Sens. Van Hollen (D-MD) and Warren (D-MA) and Reps. Pressley (D-MA) and Lynch (D-MA) have reintroduced the Payments Modernization Act, which requires financial institutions to recognize deposited funds in real-time and clarifies the moot point of whether the Fed has existing authority to build a real-time payments system.

Daily071923.pdf…

28 06, 2023

DAILY062823

Eliza Allen2023-06-28T17:21:14-04:00June 28th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Biden Predicts End to Overdrafts

In a speech today detailing “Bidenomics”, President Biden continued his administration’s campaign against “junk fees,” specifically targeting overdrafts.

Fed Branch Approval Faced Unusual Bowman Protest

With a cryptic statement, FRB Gov. Bowman has taken the unusual step of protesting a branch application which she and all other governors approved. The issue appears to be the fact that two commenters objected to the branch application on grounds that the bank (Vantage in Texas) discriminates against African American borrowers. The Fed’s formal approval notes only these comments and otherwise approves of the bank’s fair-lending record, also noting its satisfactory CRA rating and the fact that the bank is principally a commercial lender.

Fed Finds Big Banks Resilient, Still Wants More Rules

The Fed’s stress-test release today attempts to meld both the Board’s finding that banks are not only resilient, but also “well-positioned” for a severe recession with Vice Chairman Barr’s plans to rewrite an array of new rules (see Client Report FEDERALRESERVE72) that stress tests are only one measure of strength the “resilient” evidence itself.

Daily062823.pdf…

13 06, 2023

DAILY061323

Eliza Allen2023-06-13T17:11:07-04:00June 13th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Prime Brokers Face New Liquidity-Risk Standards

FINRA today released long-awaited proposals to ensure greater prime-broker liquidity, with prime brokers governed by the largest BHCs presumed to have sufficient liquidity based on Fed supervision of relevant enhanced liquidity standards.

Treasury Presses Private RTP

In remarks today, Treasury Assistant Secretary Graham Steele made it clear that Treasury wants to see private real-time payments continue in concert with FedNow to ensure resilience, noting also that instant payments pose risks that require new tools such as advanced cryptographic methods and controls such as transaction limits.

Chopra Stands Ground; Vance Considers Banking-Agency Overhaul

Today’s Senate Banking Committee hearing with CFPB Director Chopra showcased the usual partisan divide over the Bureau’s mission, with Democrats denouncing the 5^th Circuit’s decision and Republicans taking issue with the Bureau’s franchise and activities as well as its credit-card late fee proposal (see FSM Report CREDITCARD36) and small business reporting rule.

Democrats Remain Cautious on Stablecoin Bill, Opposed to Crypto Jurisdiction Rewrite

As anticipated, the full HFSC hearing today on digital assets focused on draft legislation concerning payment stablecoins and digital asset market structure.

Daily061323.pdf…

9 06, 2023

DAILY060923

Eliza Allen2023-06-09T16:39:43-04:00June 9th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

HFSC GOP Press Crypto Rewrites

The HFSC majority memo for Tuesday’s full committee hearing on digital assets reinforces Chairman McHenry’s (R-NC) determination to press ahead with legislation redesigning the federal crypto-regulatory ecosystem. As noted, the draft bill constructed with House Ag is generally unacceptable to HFSC Democrats, ensuring a more acrimonious hearing than last week’s Ag session. The witnesses all represent the private sector and generally support the new bill.

OCC Launches Consumer-Trust Campaign

The OCC last night launched a new customer-trust initiative with a new survey proposal and RFI. In accompanying remarks, Acting Comptroller Hsu emphasized that consumer trust in banks must be earned by banks that responsibly and fairly use their market power. Bolstering this new campaign, Mr. Hsu also argues that consumer trust reduces reliance on higher-risk nonbanks and gives banks the funding with which to provide through-the-cycle community lending. For its part, the OCC is working to finalize the longstanding CRA rewrite (see FSM Report CRA32), with Mr. Hsu noting the need through these rules and the OCC’s recent fair-lending rewrite to ensure fairness and LMI-household access to national banks.

Daily060923.pdf…