WASHINGTON—CUToday.info has learned that several rulemakings, including that for overdraft protection, have been pushed further back into 2015.
The CFPB had initially said it planned to issue proposed new rules around overdraft protection for February of 2015; the agency is now saying it will likely be July of 2015 before it issues the proposal.
The CFPB has been examining the issue of overdraft protection for some time. In June 2013, it issued a white paper summarizing the initial findings from its analysis of overdraft practices. That white paper, which was based on supervisory data from several large banks, highlighted a number of possible consumer protection concerns, including how consumers opt in to overdraft coverage for ATM and one-time debit card transactions, overdraft coverage limits, transaction posting order, overdraft and insufficient funds fee structure, and involuntary account closures.
In July of this year, the CFPB followed up with the release of a report based on data from the same sources that provided additional information about the outcomes of consumers who do and do not opt in to overdraft coverage for ATM and one-time debit card transactions. That same report also explored the transactions that overdraw consumer accounts.
The CFPB said that further studies on overdraft programs and their effects on consumers will also be released, and that it is considering whether rules governing overdraft and related services are warranted, and, if so, what types of rules would be appropriate. A possible rulemaking might include disclosures or address specific acts or practices, the agency has said.
“In my experience credit unions take a great deal of pride in offering well-designed and well-run ODP programs,” said John McKechnie, partner with Total Spectrum, a Washington-based advocacy firm that does some work on behalf of credit unions. “With this delay, the opportunity is there for credit unions to make our case that ODP is not the bad deal for consumers that some try to make it out to be. Now is the time for action, not reaction.”
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