Ahead of a Senate Banking Committee hearing on debanking, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs’ Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren released a letter urging President Donald Trump to act to prevent debanking and to allow the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to move forward with debanking-related safeguards. The letter argues that Treasury Secretary and Acting CFPB Director Scott Bessent’s decision to halt CFPB activity is impeding efforts to stop unfair account closures. An accompanying analysis identifies thousands of debanking-related consumer complaints over the past three years, with more than half filed against Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. The letter highlights five CFPB workstreams: restricting contract clauses that permit debanking based on free speech, political affiliation or religious views; treating certain data brokers as “consumer reporting agencies” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to trigger adverse action notices and dispute rights; limiting overdraft fees to USD 5 or a fee covering banks’ costs and losses (or requiring overdraft loans to comply with lending laws); clarifying that discriminatory debanking can be an unfair act or practice under the Consumer Financial Protection Act; and supervising large payment apps such as PayPal and CashApp. Warren called on the President to direct other federal agencies to use their authorities to address debanking and to reverse the CFPB freeze on rulemaking, enforcement investigations and litigation.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 2025-02-05
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs ranking member urges President Trump to empower the CFPB to curb debanking
Before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on debanking, Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren urged President Trump to prevent debanking and allow the CFPB to proceed with safeguards. Warren criticized the halt of CFPB activities by Treasury Secretary and Acting CFPB Director Scott Bessent, citing consumer complaints and highlighting five CFPB workstreams to address debanking. She also called for federal agencies to use their authority to tackle debanking and reverse the CFPB freeze on rulemaking and enforcement.