October 13, 2010
As banks continue their campaigns to persuade consumers to agree to pay steep fees for debit card
overdrafts, we urge the Office of Comptroller of the Currency to adopt stricter guidance that effectively
requires banks to use fair overdraft practices and fully inform consumers. In the past several months,
our organizations filed comments in dockets opened by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)1 and the
FDIC2 to update and strengthen their guidelines for overdraft programs. We urge the OCC to also
revisit overdraft abuses that remain and to update the standards you apply to banks.
To read entire letter, click PDF below…
Jean Ann Fox
Director of Financial Services
Consumer Federation of America
Chi Chi Wu
National Consumer Law Center
(on behalf of its low income clients)
Rebecca Borne
Senior Policy Counsel
Center for Responsible Lending
Lauren Z. Bowne
Staff Attorney
Consumers Union
Linda Sherry
Director, National Priorities
Consumer Action
Ed Mierzwinski
Consumer Program Director
U.S. Public Interest Research Group
CC: Ms. Sheila Bair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Mr. John Bowman, Office of Thrift Supervision
Ms. Debbie Matz, National Credit Union Administration