Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is bringing back legislation that takes aim at the big banks by severely curbing their use of overdraft fees.
These fees come up when people spend or withdraw more than their available checking account balance, and they’ve become a crucial source of revenue for financial institutions that have long targeted low-income customers who struggle the most to stay out of debt.
Under the Trump administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken an even more lax approach to enforcing limitations on such fees: As of last week, it’s now considering overturning a rule that requires banks to obtain consumer consent before imposing overdraft penalties.