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US Bank Plans to Make Up Profit on Swipe Fees by Screwing the Unemployed

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The other day I summarized a National Consumer Law Center report showing how some banks–particularly US Bank and JP Morgan–are screwing those who receive unemployment funds on debit cards with exorbitant fees. WSJ did a story on the report, too, with this appalling detail.

Banks are barreling into the business, led by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the second-biggest U.S. bank in assets, which has contracts with 21 states. U.S. Bancorp, based in Minneapolis, has contracts with 16 U.S. states. The nation’s largest bank by assets, Bank of America Corp., has deals in five states and will start issuing debit cards for California’s unemployment benefits in July.

One reason why financial institutions like prepaid debit cards: They largely escaped the recent crackdown by U.S. lawmakers and regulators on fees, interest rates and billing practices for credit and debit cards.

Last year, 10 state treasurers successfully prodded lawmakers to shield prepaid debit cards from part of the Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law that limits so-called “swipe fees” charged to retailers. Prepaid debit cards also are exempt from a 2009 law that outlawed fees for infrequent card use. In addition, most of those cards aren’t subject to Federal Reserve rules requiring debit-card users to agree before banks can charge them for overdrawing the balance in their account.

Richard Davis, U.S. Bancorp’s chairman, president and chief executive, said last month that prepaid debit cards and other products will help the company recover roughly half of the revenue likely to be lost from swipe-fee rules being written by regulators. The banking industry is lobbying to repeal or delay the rules.

That is, US Bancorp (which the report showed was charging overdraft fees up to $20) plans to make up what it’ll lose in profits if swipe fees in Dodd-Frank remain in the law by screwing the unemployed even worse.

No wonder the bankster bailouts aren’t leading to any new jobs: they’re using the unemployed as a captive profit center.

Liveblog: Senate Banking Committee on Foreclosure Fraud

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See Part One of this liveblog here.

Shelby was actually pretty good, but then Johanns and Bennett went to some length to try to pretend the banksters weren’t doing what they were doing.

Johnson: Does the law need to be change?

Levitin: It’s not the law, it’s compliance w/the law. What was governing securitization was private contractual law. Servicers allowed to contract around UCC in Pooling and Servicing Agreements. Generally requirements set forth in PSAs not followed. A good reason for PSAs to be written the way they are: bankruptcy remote. If you don’t have that chain of endorsements, it’s going to be very difficult to prove you’ve got the chain of transfers in BK remoteness.

Levitin: This is a problem with following the law.

Johnson: What were barriers to recognizing doc problems that exist.

IA AG Tom Miller: People coming forward in foreclosure issues.

Johnson: What are the conflicts of interest?

BOA Desoer: “We do not take seconds into consideration” when modifying a first. 2nd Lien not an obstacle, does not get taken into consideration.

Chase Lowman: Second liens do not get in way of modifying first.

Tester: [referring to cases he’s followed in MT] It’s not a pretty picture. [Describes constituent told by BoA not to make any payments] Can you tell me how servicer can ever tell homeowner not to pay a mortgage.

BoA Desoer: That is not what we should be telling homeowners.

Tester: Would you attribute this to employee that screwed up.

BoA Desoer: We will reinforce that aspect of communication to our teammates.

Tester: How can someone receive notice he’s in foreclosure before foreclosure process restarted?

BoA Desoer: [Dodges] The sale will not take place, but that customer will continue to get notices.

Tester: These particular hearings not particularly enjoyable for me. Not an isolated incident. MT is not a state where people come to Senator willy nilly. I don’t know how many people didn’t come to me and they just wound up on the street. It’s clear servicers have been a little bit glib, particularly about risks to their own balance sheets. Quite frankly, there ain’t gonna be more bailouts.

IA AG Miller: We want to work with the banks and the Feds.

Tester: Go to what Levitin said about Countrywide. This can be taken care of by the servicers. Their heads need to roll.

Merkley: GSEs say if foreclosure has begun before mod, servicer continue foreclosure during Mod. Is continued pestering on foreclosure during mod due to parallel processing.

Chase: Foreclosure sale won’t take effect.

Merkley: You don’t take the final step. [Now repeats a story on similar story of parallel processing] Can’t we just change this policy and suspend proceedings while mod going on?

Chase: New process prescribed by HAMP would necessitate that we enter into Mod process and engage prior to commencement of foreclosure.

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