“There is a well-intentioned movement aimed at protecting consumers from excessive fees, which is something we all support,” Hauptman said in prepared remarks the NCUA distributed prior to the event.

“However, we must also consider the unintended consequences of such policies,” he said. “In this instance, the previous data collection policy incentivized credit unions to avoid serving the needs of low-income and underserved communities. These fees can be the best option in a bad situation, saving money and protecting individuals’ credit scores. Overdraft also protects people from much higher costs imposed by their local governments.”

For the past year, the NCUA required federally insured credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets to disclose income from overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees, which was then included in Call Reports.

Under the new policy, which goes into effect with the March 31 Call Report cycle, the NCUA will collect overdraft and NSF fee data as part of the examination process. The agency will continue to publish overdraft and NSF fee income data in the aggregate once updates to its examination system are complete.

“Our regulatory framework should protect consumers from predatory practices without depriving them of the financial tools they need to navigate their lives,” Hauptman said. “The appropriateness of overdrafts and NSF fees charged is a matter between a credit union and its member-owners who ultimately determine how their credit union is run.”

AmCU President/CEO Jim Nussle thanked Hauptman for “moving to protect institutions from reputational harm” by concealing the data from the public again.

“Credit unions offer overdraft programs in safe, clearly disclosed terms to members who may need help to make ends meet, but having this data publicly accessible could lead to consequential misunderstandings,” Nussle said.

Opening the data to the public was done when Todd Harper was chair and with the support of Board Member Tanya Otsuka, who was nominated to the NCUA board by President Biden last September and sworn in in January.

It is a policy that the FDIC imposed on banks 10 years ago.

Hauptman brought up the issue at a May 2024 board meeting when Harper was away. Otsuka defended having the overdraft data available to the public.

"Institutions that rely more on a fee income can have a greater concentration risk. That is a significant concern," Otsuka said.

"Members have a right to know, the public has a right to know, what that fee income looks like," she said. "This is important for member-owners."

NCUA data pulled from Callahan’s Peer Suite shows 423 of the 433 credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets charged overdraft and/or non-sufficient fund fees in 2024 – the first and apparently last year such data is available from the NCUA. The total amount was $3.77 billion, or 5.2% of revenue. It consisted of $2.55 billion in overdraft and $1.21 billion in NSF fees.

Contact Jim DuPlessis at [email protected].