Now that theelection is over,there is muchspeculation about how a Trump presidency will impact our industry. Most everything weread is positive, especially about thefuture of automated overdraft programs.In particular, weareencouraged by:
- Recent news articles regardingthefuture role of theCFPB and
- Trump's statements about reducingbanking regulations
Additionally, a recentFederal Reserve-sponsored webinar suggestedthe regulatory bodies are not looking for a major overhaul in overdraft programs, but instead are focusing on theinner workings of an overdraftprogram. The presenters focused on manageable details like:
- Overdraft processing logic must match account disclosures.
- Marketing materials must include potential costs (including overdraft service costs), not just benefits and features.
- Institutions must adhere to all Reg E Opt-in regulations before assessing a fee on ATM and one-time debit card transactions.
- Balance calculation methods must be properly disclosed.
Indeed these positive signals should encourage you that thefuture ofoverdraftprograms is bright,especiallyif youwereanticipating apunitive or restrictiveCFPB decision.
The regulatory bodies that participated in the aforementioned webinar also clearly stated that even credit unions with an ad hoc overdraft program will need to "play by the rules" and may even need toenlist the help of outside experts in order to effectively do so.
Now is the time to move forward with implementing an automated overdraft program, so that you can reap the income and service benefits early in 2017.
Todownload BSG Financial Group’s Compliance Alert that outlines all of the topics discussed in the webinar, go to http://info.bsgfinancial.com/bsg-financial-compliance-alert-interagency-overdraft-discussion.
Here you may also download the webinar slides, view the presentation and submit overdraft-related questions to us.
