Newsroom

September 06, 2017

CFPB's CUAC meeting today on overdraft, other initiatives

The CFPB's Credit Union Advisory Council (CUAC), which includes several NAFCU-member representatives, will hold a public meeting today at the bureau's headquarters in Washington to discuss overdraft and financial empowerment initiatives.

NAFCU Senior Regulatory Affairs Counsel Michael Emancipator and Regulatory Affairs Counsel Andrew Morris will attend the meeting on behalf of NAFCU. The meeting is slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

The hearing will cover new overdraft disclosure prototypes released by the CFPB last month in response to a report that found customers who opt into overdraft coverage typically pay substantially more in overdraft fees.

The CFPB's goal for the prototypes is to improve those used by financial institutions — including credit unions — in order help consumers better understand the risks and costs of opting into overdraft coverage.

Upon the CFPB's release of the report, NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt said that while the association strongly supports clear and concise opt-in forms, it is "not aware of current forms being problematic and believe consumers make informed decisions."

The CFPB's CUAC has 15 members, all of them from credit unions with $10 billion or less in assets. Newly appointed members will serve two-year terms. The CUAC was formed under the Dodd-Frank Act to provide direct feedback to the CFPB on its policy development, research, rulemaking and engagement functions. Several NAFCU members currently serve on the CFPB's CUAC, including two member representatives who were appointed in July.