Rep. Sykes Votes to Protect Consumers in Ohio 13
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) voted against the Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution (S.J. Res. 18) that would roll back critical consumer protections from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and allow bank overdraft fees to be raised from the $5 cap established during the Biden Administration.
“Undoing this commonsense policy from the CFPB will impose hundreds of dollars in pointless fees on households across the country, many of whom are living paycheck-to-paycheck,” said Rep. Sykes. “Everything already costs too much, so why on earth would we further pad bank’s pockets by nickel-and-diming vulnerable customers with junk fees? We need to be clearing the way for families and workers, not billionaires and large corporations at the expense of the middle class.”
In December, the CFPB took action to close an outdated overdraft loophole that exempted overdraft loans from lending laws. The agency’s final rule on overdraft fees applies to the banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets that dominate the U.S. market. The reforms would also allow large banks several options to manage their overdraft lending program, including:
- Capping overdraft fees at $5;
- Offering overdraft as a courtesy by charging a fee that covers no more than costs or losses;
- Continuing to extend profit-generating overdraft loans if they comply with longstanding lending laws, including disclosing any applicable interest rate.
The final rule was expected to add up to $5 billion in annual overdraft fee savings to consumers, or $225 per household that pays overdraft fees.