Credit union trades question CFPB’s authority over fees

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is purposely trying to inflame the public by claiming legitimate fees charged by credit unions and banks are “junk fees,” the two national credit union trade groups told the agency.

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) called the junk fee assertion “provocative and plainly untrue,” while to the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), the claim is a “gross mischaracterization” of the fee structures used by credit unions.

Consumer advocates disagree.

“Fees obfuscate the price of products and services in the marketplace and make comparison shopping more difficult,” Check Bell, program director and Syed Ejaz, policy analyst at Consumer Reports wrote. “Fees are also often levied against consumers in order to penalize them for making late payments or having insufficient funds in their bank accounts. For these reasons, fees have served as a longtime nuisance for consumers.”

 

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