As we previously reported on the blog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently published a proposed rule that would dramatically cut the safe harbor for credit card late fees. See the full blog post on the CFPB’s proposed credit card rule here. In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden got in on the attack against “junk fees.” On bank fees specifically, President Biden said “We’ve reduced exorbitant bank overdraft fees, saving consumers more than $1 billion a year. We’re cutting credit card late fees by 75%, from $30 to $8.” President Biden also said his administration has written a bill called “the Junk Fee Prevention Act” and President Biden asked congress to “[p]ass the Junk Fee Prevention Act so companies stop ripping us off.” See the full State of the Union transcript here.

The CFPB’s proposed credit card rule and President Biden’s comments are just the latest developments on the topic of “junk fees.” The CFPB focused on “junk fees” in its November 2022 Supervisory Highlights, you can find our summary here, and Director Rohit Chopra has been making comments about “junk fees” since 2021. The conversation about “junk fees” and potential regulatory changes to address “junk fees” will continue and we will monitor and report on the developments.