The news: The Senate voted 52-48 to overturn a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that would have capped most bank overdraft fees at $5 starting in late 2025, per The New York Times. The House—which has a razor-thin Republican majority—will vote on the rule next.
Potential implications: Preempting the rule’s rollout, banks had been cutting or eliminating their banking fees to better compete. This decision was likely informed by data, which shows high fees prompt almost 1 in 3 banking customers to consider switching financial institutions (FIs).
But in reality, the pressure to slash overdraft fees has had inequitable impacts on FIs. According to a CFPB analysis, banks with between $50 million and $200 million in overdraft fee revenue lost 14% of that revenue between 2019 and 2023, while those with up to $10 million in overdraft fee revenue increased that revenue between 6% and 19% over the same period.