The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to ramp up enforcement actions against lenders that illegally charge credit card late-payment fees and may rewrite its rules that set thresholds for such fees, Reuters reported. The development marks an escalation of a broader crackdown by the CFPB on what it calls "junk fees," a catch-all for overdraft, credit card late-payment fees, bounced check fees, and other charges. Banks and credit unions pulled in more than $15 billion in overdraft and related fees in 2019 and $12 billion in late credit card fees in 2020, according to CFPB estimates. The agency's director, Rohit Chopra, says that lenders have become too reliant on such fees. He has also said the fees appear to be excessive, not transparent to consumers, and in many cases act as penalties rather than compensation for a legitimate service. In January, the CFPB issued a request for public input on how banks and companies charge such fees and the impact they have on American families, the deadline for which is April 11. The agency has not yet said how it plans to proceed.
