Senator Warren Pushes Credit Unions On Late Fees

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is leading a group of Senate Democrats in pressing 21 large credit unions to curb overdraft and nonsufficient-funds (NSF) fees, arguing these charges are opaque and exploit consumers, especially after recent rollbacks of federal fee limits and transparency rules. The push comes as industry-friendly court and regulatory actions have weakened prior Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) efforts to cap credit card late fees and bank overdraft charges, making congressional scrutiny one of the few remaining pressure points on credit unions’ fee practices.​

What Warren is doing

Warren, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined by Sens. Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal, sent letters to 21 credit unions that federal data show earned the highest overdraft and NSF fee revenue in 2024. The letters demand detailed information on each institution’s overdraft and NSF policies, including the size of fees, how many accounts are closed over these charges, and what changes they plan to make going forward.​

The inquiry follows the National Credit Union Administration’s decision in May 2025 to stop publishing overdraft/NSF fee income for individual credit unions, which the senators say reduces transparency for consumers, Congress, and the public. Warren frames this as part of a broader pattern in which regulators step back from public reporting even as some institutions rely heavily on fee income from financially stressed members.​

Who is targeted and why it matters

Among the 21 credit unions are some of the country’s largest, including Navy Federal, Broadview, State Employees, Vystar, Suncoast, CommunityAmerica, America First, Golden 1, and others with high overdraft and NSF fee totals. Lawmakers point in particular to Navy Federal, which they say collected more than $335 million in overdraft fees and nearly $390 million in NSF fees in 2024, underscoring how significant these revenue streams can be at a single credit union.​

Warren’s move builds on earlier investigations of individual credit unions and a 2024 CFPB consent order that forced Navy Federal to refund over $80.6 million in improper overdraft fees and pay a $15 million penalty before that order was later terminated. The senators warn that with less public data and weaker federal guardrails, some credit unions may continue or revert to aggressive fee models that disproportionately impact lower-income and military members.​

Connection to late-fee and overdraft policy fights

This latest pressure campaign is unfolding against a backdrop of legal and political setbacks for CFPB rules aimed at limiting late and overdraft fees. The CFPB’s 2024 credit card late-fee rule would have lowered the typical late fee from about $32 to $8 and tightened the safe-harbor framework, but it was blocked in court and then effectively vacated through a 2025 settlement after industry lawsuits argued the bureau exceeded its authority.​

Similarly, a CFPB rule to cap bank overdraft charges was overturned by the Senate in March 2025, with the Trump administration siding with industry critics who said such limits were overreach. With key CFPB fee rules rolled back or stalled, Warren and other Democrats are shifting tactics toward direct oversight of specific institutions, using public letters and data-driven inquiries to pressure credit unions and banks to voluntarily reform overdraft and late-fee practices.​

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