not merge. They shouldn’t have to wait 12 to 15 months for approvals. There’s a ton of capital sitting on the sidelines, and banks are missing out on opportunities. Lately, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra seems more willing to engage with the industry. Do you feel like he’s listening to you? I was thrilled to see Director Chopra at our annual conference, CBA Live. We had a very substantive dialogue about not only the bank failures but also some of the forthcoming rules, such as 1071 and CRA. It was a very positive sign, and we want to continue the discussion and be able to share information. I don’t necessarily think we will change his agenda, but we can still have an impact in certain areas. The CFPB has proposed a safe harbor for credit card latepayment fees at $8. What are the consequences to banks and consumers if this is the final rule? We’d gone through a rigorous exercise with policymakers to set the fees where they are today. Then the CFPB came out with its proposal, and President Biden said during the State of the Union — before the ink had even dried — that the fees would be lowered to $8, presupposing this rule. Which makes it extremely difficult to have a productive discussion about what the fees should be. If this is the final rule, the implications for banks and consumers would be huge. The administration seems to be telling consumers that they don’t need to pay their credit card bills, basically. But that will affect consumers in other ways. Their credit scores could drop; they may even lose access to credit. About 74% of borrowers, even those who pay their credit card bills on time, will see their costs increase. We also don’t think the CFPB did the cost-benefit analysis to justify how they got to $8 or took into account the full costs to a bank of managing late fees. There’s a litany of post-chargeoff costs, pre-charge-off costs, and other costs that they didn’t consider. What will be the impact of 1071, the CFPB’s rule on smallbusiness data collection? Our banks support the intent of 1071. We’ve had significant concerns about some of its elements, and we actually did achieve certain things that are reflected in the final rule, but one of the things we didn’t achieve was a phase-in approach for 1071. We just need more time to implement it. The largest banks in the country don’t have the systems in place to collect and report this data from small businesses. If it’s going to be difficult for them, I can’t imagine the challenge facing smaller institutions. To listen to the full conversation, visit https://bankingwithinterest.libsyn.com/cbas-johnson- on-ma-credit-card-late-fees-and-cfpbs-future. We have the most dynamic and competitive marketplace in the world, with 5,000-plus banks, fintechs, and nonbanks serving communities and customers. Utah Banker 17
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