CFPB targets credit card interest, fees in latest report

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said total outstanding credit card debt eclipsed $1 trillion last year for the first time since the CFPB began collecting this data.

Details: In the CFPB’s latest biennial report to Congress on the consumer credit card market, the bureau said credit card companies charged consumers more than $105 billion in interest and more than $25 billion in fees. The bureau said more consumers are carrying balances month to month, and it targeted large credit card companies’ profits and annual percentage rates.

Background: The CFPB is required by the CARD Act to produce a biennial report on the state of credit cards—which the bureau uses in its rulemaking—to ensure the law is achieving its goals of establishing “fair and transparent practices related to the extension of credit.”

ICBA Comments: In a letter to the CFPB earlier this year as part of its request for information in developing the study, ICBA said community banks are uniquely positioned to offer affordable credit card products to expand credit access to the communities they serve, including low- and moderate-income consumers.

ICBA Advocacy: ICBA has separately called on the CFPB to withdraw its proposed rule on credit card fees for late payments, which would lower the immunity provision dollar amount for late fees to $8, among other changes. In a comment letter earlier this year, ICBA said the proposed rule sends the wrong message that punctual credit card payments are not a significant priority, which could result in more late payments and harm consumers in the long term.