This special edition of Supervisory Highlights focuses on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) recent supervisory work related to violations of law in connection with fees. As part of its emphasis on fair competition the CFPB has launched an initiative, consistent with its legal authority, to scrutinize exploitative fees charged by banks and financial companies, commonly referred to as “junk fees.”
Junk fees are unnecessary charges that inflate costs while adding little to no value to the consumer. Theses unavoidable or surprise charges are often hidden or disclosed only at a later stage in the consumer’s purchasing process or sometimes not at all.