Unclear Disclosures

Overdraft fees made up 2 percent of banks’ revenue and one-third of service charges in the first quarter of this year, down from 6 percent of revenue and two-thirds of service charges in 2006, according to Usdin’s report. That’s played out even though the median penalty assessed for overdrawing an account has risen 33 percent to $36 over the same time period.

One option the CFPB is considering would try to improve disclosure of opt-in policies, as studies by consumer groups have shown banks may not make it clear enough that customers can decline overdraft protection and avoid fees, the people said.

Another would govern the order in which banks process transactions, the people said. Since 2011, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo have had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to settle lawsuits that accused them of manipulating the order of debit-card transactions to boost overdraft fees.

Regulations in general could cut into bank revenue, the Jefferies analysts wrote, “but much depends on the types of changes.”

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