August 09, 2024

Warren, Van Hollen Slam JPMorgan Chase for Threatening Customers with “Outrageous” New Checking Fees

As Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Seeks to End Abusive Overdraft Fees, Senators Warn: “JPMorgan Chase should put a hold on any plans to levy additional charges on working Americans”

“There is no justification whatsoever for imposing new fees on working families when your bank is hugely profitable.”

Text of Letter (PDF) 

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) wrote to JPMorgan Chase (JPM), criticizing the bank’s threat to begin charging over 80 million customers for checking accounts amid record profits, and demanded the bank scrap those plans.

JPM’s threat came in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) rule to cap overdraft fees and prevent banks from charging excessive overdraft fees, which disproportionately impact low income Americans. JPM is an industry leader in charging overdraft fees — last year, the bank made $1.1 billion in overdraft revenue alone. JPM is now attempting to pass the cost of the CFPB’s rule onto consumers to regain lost profits. 

2023 was JPM’s most profitable year in history, raking in $49.6 billion, and the company has also begun funneling $30 billion to its wealthy investors through a stock buyback program.

“JPMorgan Chase’s potential imposition of new costs on its customers in response to legal and long-overdue efforts to limit abusive fees—at a time when the then bank is making record profits and funneling those profits straight into the pockets of its executives —is outrageous,” wrote the Senators.

The senators demanded that JPM provide answers about its plan to charge new fees from customers. 

Senator Warren is a long-time leader in protecting consumers from predatory fees and practices: 

  • In May 2024, at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senator Warren highlighted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s efforts to cut down on credit card late fees and stop big credit card issuers from exploiting loopholes in the law to gouge customers.
  • On February 22, 2024, Senator Warren, Senator Sanders, and Representative Omar sent a letter to  the heads of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank seeking information on their account closure practices and the steps they are taking to prevent discriminatory banking practices.
  • On November 30, 2023, in a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Warren applauded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed rule to rein in credit card late fees.  
  • In July 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, Senator Warren blasted big banks’ use of predatory overdraft fees and called on the CFPB to continue its oversight of these giant banks. 
  • In June 2023, Senator Warren sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra highlighting findings from a recent investigation into the late fee practices of the ten largest credit card issuers and urging the CFPB to finalize its proposed rule that would save American families up to $9 billion a year.
  • In June 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Warren applauded the CFPB proposed rule to cap unreasonable credit card late fees, which could save working families billions of dollars each year.
  • In May 2023, Senator Warren led lawmakers in sending a letter to ten of the largest credit card issuers – PNC, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Citigroup, Discover, Bank of America, American Express, Wells Fargo, US Bancorp, and USAA –  requesting information on their credit card late fee practices following the CFPB proposed rule to limit exorbitant late fees and the banking lobby’s strong pushback against this proposed rule.
  • On February 15, 2023, Senator Warren delivered a speech on the fight to protect our economy and outlined an agenda for what’s next to increase competition.
  • On December 16, 2022, at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Warren asked CFPB Director Rohit Chopra about the CFPB’s achievements over the last year to hold big banks and giant corporations accountable and put money back in working families’ pockets. 

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