Big Banks Boast High Profits While Junk Fees Continue to Cost Americans Billions
Report: Top 3 Chicken Producers Involved in DOJ Antitrust Lawsuit Racked Up Nearly $700M In Settlements For Price-and-Wage-Fixing
Gorsuch’s Billionaire Ties Threaten Supreme Court Integrity: In a Letter to Chief Justice Roberts, Advocacy and Watchdog Groups Demand Recusal in High-Stakes NEPA Case
Watchdog: In Defense of Scams, Big Auto Retailers Take FTC to Court in Industry-Friendly 5th Circuit
Supreme Court Green Lights Texas’ Near-Total Abortion Ban
Site Menu

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) moved to modernize and strengthen its antitrust guidance involving banking mergers by subjecting the industry to the same 2023 Merger Guidelines the DOJ uses for other industries, rather than badly outdated bank merger guidance from nearly 30 years ago. Also today, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) moved to place stronger guidelines for weighing bank mergers. Government watchdog Accountable.US applauded these moves and urged the DOJ and FDIC to immediately use their authority to investigate the proposed merger between two of the biggest U.S. credit card companies, Capital One and Discover Financial Services. Accountable.US has warned that further consolidation of major credit card issuers could bring more needless junk fees for everyday families, including higher service charges and late penalties. An Accountable.US review found Capital One’s junk fees are driven by greed after boasting of $4.9 billion in profits in 2023 while the company raked in nearly $1.7 billion from “service charges and other customer-related fees.”

A Raw Deal for Consumers: The new DOJ and FDIC guidance follows a recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finding Capital One is among largest credit card issuers that offer cards with a maximum purchase APR over 30 percent, needlessly costing American families an extra $400 to $500 per year compared to issuers with the lowest APRs. The CFPB found lack of competition “likely contributes to higher rates at the largest credit card companies” – a problem that can only get worse under the proposed anti-competitive merger between Capital One and Discover.  As Americans for Financial Reform noted, the proposed Capital One-Discover merger “would create the nation’s biggest credit card lender that would hold more than 30 percent of the credit card loans to people with non-prime credit scores, who are disproportionately Black and Latine.”

“

History shows banking giants like Capital One love to exploit a lack of competition to price-gouge families with predatory credit card interest rates and hidden junk fees. The proposed merger between Capital One and Discover will mean even less competition and more incentive to nickel and dime consumers with junk fees to the tune of billions of dollars. The Justice Department and FDIC should use their authority to investigate whether further consolidation of big banks and major credit card issuers runs afoul of antitrust law at the expense of consumers, especially communities of color. Fewer choices in the financial marketplace only invites higher costs for working Americans.”

Accountable.US’ Liz Zelnick
back to top