September 02, 2025

Warren, Blumenthal, Sanders Press Twenty-Five Banks on Predatory Overdraft Fees As Trump Enables Them by Repealing Fee Cap

“Overdraft fees are the source of tens of millions of bank account closures, meaning this law will likely increase debanking, running counter to President Trump’s stated goal of reducing debanking.”

“When almost 40 percent of American households have less than $400 in their bank accounts, prices for food, energy, and other essential items are rising rapidly, and Trump’s chaotic, half-baked policies are wreaking havoc on the economy, raising overdraft fees in the wake of the repeal of this rule would be inexcusable.”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent letters to 25 banks, pressing for more information about overdraft policies that hurt consumers – a problem made worse for consumers when congressional Republicans and President Trump repealed a rule generally capping overdraft fees at $5. The recipients of the letters include banks that collect the most in total overdraft revenue, banks that collect the most overdraft revenue as a percentage of their profits, and additional banks notable for their overdraft policies that have harmed consumers.

“Overdraft and non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees are ‘one of the most common exploitative mechanisms big banks use to target the poor.’” wrote the Senators. “The CFPB found nearly twice as many consumers with incomes between $35,001 and $65,000 were charged overdraft and NSF fees (35%), versus consumers with incomes between $100,000 and $175,000 (18%).’ When consumers’ finances are already stretched thin, exorbitant overdraft fees can cause other payments to bounce—leading to even more fees in a vicious circle that can ‘turn setbacks into crises.’”

The Senators continued: “The (CFPB) rule closed (an) outdated loophole exempting overdraft from standard regulation around credit, which has ‘allowed many large banks to transform overdrafts into a massive junk fee harvesting machine.’ Had President Trump and congressional Republicans not thrown out the CFPB’s final rule, these changes would have saved consumers up to $3.5 billion in annual overdraft fees, or $225 per household that pays these fees.”

The Senators also highlighted how overdraft fees lead to debanking: “Overdraft fees are the source of tens of millions of bank account closures, meaning this law will likely increase debanking, running counter to President Trump’s stated goal of reducing debanking.”

Senators sent letters to the following banks requesting answers by September 12, 2025:

  1. JPMorgan Chase
  2. Wells Fargo
  3. Truist Bank
  4. PNC Bank
  5. US Bank
  6. TD Bank
  7. Regions Bank
  8. Bank of America
  9. Huntington Bank
  10. Fifth Third Bank
  11. Arvest Bank
  12. Keybank National Association
  13. Mechanics Bank
  14. Dollar Bank
  15. Northwest Bank
  16. Community Bank, National Association,
  17. Bancfirst
  18. Glacier Bank
  19. Simmons Bank
  20. Associated Bank, National Association
  21. Woodforest National Bank
  22. Citizens Bank
  23. First National Bank of Texas / First Convenience Bank
  24. Armed Forces Bank
  25. Academy Bank

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