Skip to content Skip to footer

Overdue Overdraft Overhaul

If bankers are as smart as they are well paid, why don’t their overdraft fees work? Why don’t the fees discourage overdrafts? Why did these fees swell 17% in the last six years? Some observers figure consumers pay $30 billion in these fees. Could it be (cynicism alert!) that banks view these “penalties” as a lucrative source of revenue? Consider that the entire banking industry earned $119 billion in 2011 from all sources, sharpening the importance of overdraft fees.

We encourage the CFPB to go beyond the study. Where the investigation leads to deception, the CFPB should follow with rules that insure that overdraft fees accomplish their mission. That means discouraging overdrafts. And we will know the CFPB has succeeded when bank overdraft fee revenue falls.

We’re not going to stand for it. Are you?

You don’t bury your head in the sand. You know as well as we do what we’re facing as a country, as a people, and as a global community. Here at Truthout, we’re gearing up to meet these threats head on, but we need your support to do it: We must raise $50,000 to ensure we can keep publishing independent journalism that doesn’t shy away from difficult — and often dangerous — topics.

We can do this vital work because unlike most media, our journalism is free from government or corporate influence and censorship. But this is only sustainable if we have your support. If you like what you’re reading or just value what we do, will you take a few seconds to contribute to our work?