Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released this statement in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) final rule to rein in excessive overdraft fees charged by the nation’s biggest financial institutions.

“I applaud the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, led by Director Rohit Chopra, for this latest action to curb excessive overdraft fees. Right now, many banks are charging people junk fees as high as $35 or more for briefly overdrawing their accounts. Many of these fees are structured to extract as much revenue as possible, preying on families living paycheck to paycheck and other vulnerable groups struggling to make ends meet. All the while, big banks are profiting off the backs of their vulnerable customers. While the CFPB’s initiative to curb junk fees encouraged some banks to voluntarily reduce or eliminate these fees, most banks still charged exorbitant overdraft fees and raked in nearly $6 billion last year.

Thanks to the CFPB’s latest action, banks will only be able to charge $5 for overdraft, saving consumers up to $5 billion annually. I am also pleased that this rule builds on the longstanding legislative accomplishments of Committee Democrats to combat excessive overdraft fees, and I look forward to seeing this rule come into effect next year.”

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