Durbin Calls on Illinois Banks to Follow Chase's Lead and Adopt Fee Disclosure Forms
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent letters to the Illinois Bankers Association, the Illinois Credit Union League and the Community Bankers Association of Illinois today, urging them to follow the lead of Chase bank and ask their membership to adopt a disclosure form designed to make checking account terms and fees transparent and easy for consumers to understand.
A copy of the form, developed by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project, is attached. It outlines all the basic checking account terms and conditions – including ATM fees, interest rates, overdraft penalties, and account closing fees -- in a concise, easy-to-read format. Currently, the median length of checking account disclosures is 111 pages, according to a Pew study of the nation's 10 largest banks.
“I write to renew my request of November 7 that you encourage your member institutions to provide their customers with a standardized, concise and consumer-friendly disclosure form listing the fees and key terms associated with checking accounts. In light of yesterday’s announcement that the nation’s largest bank has adopted such a form, I believe Illinois-based banks and credit unions should also move forward with this important pro-consumer and pro-transparency initiative so that they do not get left behind,” Durbin wrote.
Chase is the largest bank operating in Illinois. Last month, Senator Durbin called on the nation’s financial institutions to voluntarily simplify checking account fee disclosures. Durbin has also asked the Illinois banking and credit union communities to voluntarily adopt the fee disclosure form.