The Consumer Federation of America released the following statement in response to the 52-48 vote in the Senate to approve S.J. Res. 18, a resolution of disapproval of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Overdraft Lending: Very Large Financial Institutions final rule. A companion bill will be introduced in the House, and if passed, it will reverse the rule and prevent a substantially similar rule from being implemented in the future. 

“The overdraft rule prevents large banks from building profit centers on the struggles of working people,” said Adam Rust, director of financial services for the Consumer Federation of America. “The CFPB wrote a common-sense rule that permits overdraft credit, but under terms that are fair and consistent with cost. Banking charters were never supposed to be a license to rip people off, but unfortunately, many banks rely on gotcha penalty fees to pad their profits, effectively diminishing the difference between insured depositories and payday lenders. Reversing this rule is a gift to banks, and if the House goes forward with their version, it will harm people for decades to come.”