The American Bankers Association and four banking and credit union associations today urged the CFPB to release the data underlying its proposed rulemaking on credit card penalty fees, saying the agency has failed to be transparent about its justification for the changes.
The CFPB in February proposed to end the practice of annually adjusting the late fee safe harbor for inflation, lower the safe harbor amount to $8 and cap permissible late fee amounts at 25% of the required minimum payment. The agency cited Federal Reserve data and other information sources in support of the changes. In a joint letter, the associations pointed to a D.C. Circuit Court ruling finding agencies are required to make public the data and analysis they use in rulemaking. That hasn’t happened, they said.
“In light of the bureau’s legal obligation to provide the underlying data and analysis on which it has relied in connection with the proposed rule, we respectfully request that the CFPB publish this data and analysis, including the methodologies the CFPB has used, immediately,” the groups said. “Further, the bureau must extend the comment period to ensure adequate time for the public to review and meaningfully comment on the proposal in light of that critical information.”
