Newsroom
Berger: CFPB’s credit card late fee proposal ‘amounts to financial chaos’
The CFPB Wednesday issued its proposed rule on credit card late fees that would drastically reduce the current safe harbor to $8. NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger responded, arguing that the proposal “on its face may be about saving consumers money, but it amounts to financial chaos – ultimately sacrificing access to safe, affordable credit for millions of Americans who rely on it to afford daily life.”
“Cutting protections for credit card providers will price smaller, community-based financial institutions like credit unions out of the market,” Berger added. “With this rulemaking, the bureau is ignoring its statutory mandated safeguard to protect small institutions and NAFCU’s call to follow the law by conducting a SBREFA panel to analyze its impact. The consumers credit unions serve, many in low-income and underserved populations, will have reduced access to credit as a result.
“In addition, institutions will likely be forced to raise the price of checking and savings accounts or other loan products and reduce the benefits of other financial programs. This proposed rule, if finalized in its current form, will hit Americans hard.”
NAFCU has flagged the potential consequences of this rulemaking, including limiting credit availability and increasing industry consolidation, and noted that credit unions offer several solutions to members experiencing financial hardship. The association has also raised issue with the bureau not convening a panel under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) to consider the impact of the rule on small entities.
In addition to limiting the safe harbor dollar amount for late fees to $8, even for subsequent violations, the proposed rule also:
- prohibits annual inflation adjustments to the late fee safe harbor amount; and
- caps late fees at 25 percent of the required payment.
NAFCU will continue its strong advocacy against this proposed rule and urge the CFPB to convene a SBREFA panel to ensure credit unions and their members do not lose access to safe, affordable credit options.
Share This
Related Resources
The Looming Government Shutdown
Operations
Blog Post
Add to Calendar 2023-09-22 14:00:00 2023-09-22 14:00:00 Understanding Credit Card Portfolio Sales & Agent Programs Both credit union and bank credit card issuers are under intense pressure from various sources, including competitor innovation, significant internal resource commitments, increasing operating expenses, uncertain regulatory and economic environments and a variety of capital and liquidity constraints. This has led to about 80% of all banks offering credit cards under an ‘agent issuing’ model, where a third-party issues credit cards under the financial institution’s name. While hundreds of credit unions do the same, and interest in this option has increased in the last two years, the majority of credit unions still own and manage this product themselves. Deciding whether this option can meet strategic, financial and member needs can be difficult to untangle. In this webinar, Understanding Credit Card Portfolio Sales & Agent Programs, you’ll delve into the structure of such programs, the financial and risk-profile impacts of such a decision, the contractual commitments required of both parties and discover evaluation tips and processes for any credit union that would like to evaluate this path. Key Takeaways Discover the structure of the agent issuing concept and obligations of both parties Understand the financial impact of entering such a program to the balance sheet, income statement, and critical performance ratios Ascertain the impacts to members, including both positive and negative possibilities Review the accompanying contractual structures and key considerations Develop an evaluation process that best protects the credit union’s financial and other outcomes Register Now $295 Members | $395 Nonmembers(Additional $50 for USB)One registration gives your entire team access to the live webinar and on-demand recording until September 22, 2024.Go to the Online Training Center to access the webinar after purchase » Who Should Attend COOs CFOs NCCOs and compliance titles NCRMs and risk titles General counsel staff Education Credits NCCOs will receive 1.0 CEUs for participating in this webinar NCRMs will recieve 1.0 CEUs for participating in this webinar CPA credit information is below; recommended 1.0 CPE credits. CPA Certification Credit Information Reviewer: Josie Collins, Senior Associate Director of Education, NAFCU Learning Objectives: See key takeaways Program Level: Basic Prerequisites Needed: None Advance Preparation Needed: None Delivery Method: Group Internet-Based Recommended CPE Credits: 1.0 credits Recommended Field of Study: Regulatory Ethics – Technical About Our Webinars Our webinars are streamed live from NAFCU headquarters near Washington, DC. Your audio/video feed of the presenters includes presentation slides and downloadable handouts. You can easily submit your questions to the presenters at any time during the live broadcast, with no dialing over the phone! The audio and video stream directly through your computer. Web NAFCU digital@nafcu.org America/New_York public
Understanding Credit Card Portfolio Sales & Agent Programs
Credits: NCCO, NCRM, CPE
Webinar
Add to Calendar 2023-09-20 14:00:00 2023-09-20 14:00:00 Working with the Member Expulsion Final Rule NCUA’s new expulsion rules created fundamental shifts in long-standing rules for federal credit unions (FCUs). Members who exhibit abusive or violent behavior, and members who engage in fraudulent activity, have long been difficult to deal with under prior expulsion paradigms. The new rules create important tools for FCUs to deal with problem members, which can’t be implemented on a “one-off” basis—preparation will be key to being able to use these new powers. In this webinar, Working With the Member Expulsion Final Rule, you’ll explore how to implement the new member expulsion and limitation of services rules for FCUs, including optimal ways to include member notices and key provisions in member materials. This includes learning about the specific procedures necessary to expel members and the limitations of these new powers. You’ll also discover additional tools available under new NCUA clarifications in the rule. Key Takeaways Identify the revisions necessary in bylaws and member materials to implement the rule Learn about waterfall approaches to balance credit union needs and member rights Understand procedures for communications and board votes Hear about operational flexibility and tools that credit unions can implement before board involvement Register Now $295 Members | $395 Nonmembers(Additional $50 for USB)One registration gives your entire team access to the live webinar and on-demand recording until September 20, 2024.Go to the Online Training Center to access the webinar after purchase » Who Should Attend NCCOs NCRMs Compliance and risk titles Education Credits NCCOs will receive 1.0 CEUs for participating in this webinar NCRMs will recieve 1.0 CEUs for participating in this webinar CPA credit information is below; recommended 1.0 CPE credits. CPA Certification Credit Information Reviewer: Josie Collins, Senior Associate Director of Education, NAFCU Learning Objectives: See key takeaways Program Level: Basic Prerequisites Needed: None Advance Preparation Needed: None Delivery Method: Group Internet-Based Recommended CPE Credits: 1.0 credits Recommended Field of Study: Regulatory Ethics – Technical About Our Webinars Our webinars are streamed live from NAFCU headquarters near Washington, DC. Your audio/video feed of the presenters includes presentation slides and downloadable handouts. You can easily submit your questions to the presenters at any time during the live broadcast, with no dialing over the phone! The audio and video stream directly through your computer. Web NAFCU digital@nafcu.org America/New_York public
Working with the Member Expulsion Final Rule
Credits: NCCO, NCRM, CPE
Webinar
Add to Calendar 2023-09-14 14:00:00 2023-09-14 14:00:00 Anti-Harassment Training In today’s “Me Too” world, the chances of an allegation of harassment (whether “sexual” or “hostile workplace” oriented) being filed against your credit union are greater than ever. It’s no longer enough to simply write and train staff and volunteers on a good anti-harassment policy. You’ve got to be prepared for the eventuality of a claim. So, what do you do when an employee files a charge? Worse yet, what if the charge is against the CEO or a board member? Let’s face it, we encounter more lawsuits and “charges” in the Human Resources arena than we do in the fraud department. In this informative and entertaining Anti-Harassment Training webinar, you’ll examine harassment, what it is and isn’t and learn specific instructions on how to handle charges once they’ve been made (whether they’re legitimate or not). Key Takeaways Learn how to identify what is, and isn’t, considered harassment Discuss ways to protect your employees and your credit union against harassment charges Discover how to conduct a harassment investigation Understand when it’s necessary to “go outside” for help Register Now $295 Members | $395 Nonmembers(Additional $50 for USB)One registration gives your entire team access to the live webinar and on-demand recording until September 14, 2024.Go to the Online Training Center to access the webinar after purchase » Who Should Attend Presidents and CEOs HR staff Executive vice presidents and COOs NCRM and risk titles Education Credits NCRMs will recieve 1.0 CEUs for participating in this webinar Web NAFCU digital@nafcu.org America/New_York public
Anti-Harassment Training
Credits: NCRM
Webinar
Get daily updates.
Subscribe to NAFCU today.