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NAFCU details CFPB’s harmful mischaracterization of junk fees
NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler wrote to the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection ahead of today’s hearing on the impact the CFPB’s mischaracterization of junk fees has on consumers. In the letter, Thaler emphasized NAFCU’s support of fair, transparent, and competitive markets for consumer financial services and improving consumers’ understanding of financial products and services.
Thaler noted while NAFCU “understand[s] the significance of required disclosures and the positive impact they have on consumers’ understanding of financial product pricing, sensible payment guardrails provide for better comparison shopping and improved consumer repayment behavior. To claim that fees which must be disclosed are in fact surprise or junk fees is a mischaracterization and one that undercuts the Bureau’s own efforts to develop effective disclosures.”
He explained how NAFCU members often report frustration and confusion over the “volume of required disclosures, despite their best efforts to educate consumers about the importance of these disclosures and the information they contain regarding the terms and fees of products and services.”
NAFCU has led the charge against the bureau’s proposal and mischaracterization of “junk fees” in financial services, with NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger calling for an end to the CFPB’s “war on Main Street.” The association will continue to hold the bureau accountable for policy making decisions that would impact the 137 million credit union members.