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Today, CitiGroup, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase & Co.—three major banks still using junk fees—announced over $26 billion in combined Q2 earnings. As government watchdog Accountable.US has documented, exploitative junk fees levied by banks and financial companies cost American families billions every year. In the beginning three months of 2024, CitiGroup, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase & Co., raked in $2.56 billion in revenue from these fees.

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The more Wall Street banks beat profit expectations, the clearer it becomes CEOs do not need to price-gouge Americans with excessive junk fees. Yet the big bank lobby continues to stand in the way of Biden administration actions to curb this predatory practice and provide relief to families burdened by credit card debt. Right-wing lawmakers in Congress in the pocket of banks that abuse junk fees claim they teach responsibility, but they should learn their constituents are more than just a ‘profit pool.’”

Accountable.US’ Liz Zelnick

JP Morgan Chase & Co is so concerned with protecting fee-related profits, that in the face of regulation, the bank could introduce new fees to make up for the lost “profit pool.”

Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a new rule capping most credit card late fees at $8, down from an average of $30. In a costly setback for millions of consumers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—representing major banks like JPMorgan Chase, CitiGroup, and Wells Fargo—sued to block implementation of the rule and earned a stay from Trump-appointed Judge Mark Pittman of the Northern District of Texas, a decision costing American families roughly $27 million each day that it’s in effect.

Congressional Republicans have also fought to keep financial industry junk fees in place. House Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. McHenry (R-NC) has aggressively attacked the CFPB’s rulemaking on credit card late fees while failing to mention he has taken over $1.1 million from the eight largest credit card issuers and banking industry trade groups.

After receiving $7.9 million from the largest credit issuers and industry groups most affected by the CFPB’s potential cap on credit card late fees, House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) Republicans voted in favor of a Congressional Review Act resolution introduced by Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY-06) to block the rule. Despite industry and Republican opposition, the CFPB’s exceptionally popular rule would save millions of Americans $220 per year on average, a total surpassing $10 billion across the nation annually, and would be a significant step towards alleviating crushing credit card debt plaguing American families.

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