Rohit Chopra, director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, speaks during a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee in Washington, DC, on December 15, 2022.
Ting Sheng | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. banking industry has achieved important victories in this area. effort prevent implementation of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau This rule would significantly limit the fees that credit card companies can charge for late payments.
federal court late Friday approved The industry's last-ditch legal effort to suspend enforcement of regulations. announced It is scheduled to take effect in March and go into effect on Tuesday.
in him orderJudge Mark Pittman of the Northern District of Texas sided with plaintiffs, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in their lawsuit against the CFPB, saying they had cleared a hurdle in seeking a preliminary injunction freezing the rules.
This will maintain, at least for now, a major source of revenue for the U.S. card industry. The CFPB estimates that this rule would have saved American families. 10 billion dollars A one-year fee paid by those who are late on their bills. It would cap late fees, typically $32 per case, at $8 per case, limiting the industry's ability to raise fees.
It is currently unclear when or if the new regulations will take effect.
A CFPB spokesperson told CNBC on Friday: „Delays in enforcing the rule will cost consumers $800 million a month in late fees, an amount that will inflate profits for the largest credit card issuers. I will do it,” he said.
The industry lawsuit is an effort to block regulations „designed to continue making tens of billions of dollars in profits by charging borrowers late fees far in excess of their actual costs,“ a spokesperson said.
The C.F.P.B. Said The industry is profiting from borrowers with low credit scores by imposing higher late payment penalties than ever in the past decade, but industry groups argue that capping fees is a misguided effort. There is. I will redistribute The cost to those who pay their bills on time.
The Consumer Bankers Association is one such organization. sued The CFPB said it was „pleased with the district court's decision to grant a preliminary injunction stopping the CFPB's credit card late fee rules from going into effect next week.“
CBA said it will continue to pursue in court why the CFPB rules should be „completely struck down.“