11.18.11

Durbin Urges Consumer Bankers Association's Membership to Adopt Fee Disclosure Form

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – In a letter today, US Senator Dick Durbin asked the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) to urge their membership to adopt clear and easy-to-understand fee disclosure forms after CBA President Richard Hunt said that he and his membership supports transparency.

 

“On November 3, you stated publicly that ‘CBA and our member banks support clear and easy-to-understand disclosures which are meaningful for our customers.’ I commend you for this statement and agree that it is important for financial institutions to provide American consumers with clear, upfront and honest information about the fees banks charge.  Such transparency will enable consumers to make sound financial choices and will enhance competition and efficiency in the consumer banking market,” Durbin wrote. “[R]ecent reports…indicate that some banks have been looking for ways to impose new or increased fees on their customers with no effective notice or with notice that is buried in pages of fine print.

 

“I ask that you encourage your members to reject this path and instead take two meaningful pro-transparency steps that are consistent with your stated support for clear and easy-to-understand disclosures. First, I ask that you urge your member banks to adopt the clear and easy-to-understand fee disclosure form that the Pew Charitable Trusts has developed for checking accounts. Second, I ask that you urge your member banks to disclose on every customer’s monthly statement the interchange fee that the banks collect on each credit, debit, and prepaid debit card transaction performed by that customer.”

 

“The important pro-transparency steps described above will shine a light on fees that have long been hidden or poorly disclosed, and if adopted they will prove enormously meaningful for the consumers whose interests you support.  I urge you to inform your member institutions about these steps and advocate that they adopt them promptly.”

 

The Consumer Bankers Association is the national trade association for the largest retail banks in the nation. Their membership includes: Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, US Bancorp, PNC Financial Service Group, Commerce Bankshares, SunTrust Bank and Regions Financial Corporation.