Banks Should Drop Tricks and Traps for Good

September 07, 2012, 3:00 p.m. EDT 1 Min Read

Consumer banking

What's Driving the Sudden Shift Toward Simpler Disclosures?

Banks have been talking for years about using plain language in their disclosure notices, but only recently have they started to take action.

By Victoria Finkle

August 16
Consumer banking

B of A, Citi Join the Simple Disclosures Stampede

Bank of America and Citigroup will be joining some of their largest competitors in offering customers simpler checking account disclosures, the banks confirmed Thursday.

By Victoria Finkle

July 5
Consumer banking

Wells Rolls Out Simplified Checking Account Disclosures

Wells Fargo is the latest of the big banks to unveil simpler checking account disclosures for customers, following rollouts by JPMorgan Chase, Regions and TD Bank.

By Victoria Finkle

June 29

The American Banker article, "B of A, Fifth Third Are Latest Banks to Simplify Checking Disclosures" contained good news for consumers and vindication for long-overdue reform of the consumer banking industry. More specifically, the article reinforced the importance of creating a federal regulator solely focused on protecting consumers’ financial interests.

In years past, big banks have ignored calls for better disclosures of terms and conditions – relying on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to shield them from pesky state consumer protection concerns. But that is no longer the case, as the OCC tries to rehabilitate its reputation as an agency captured by the banks it is supposed to supervise.

Still, the article is part of a cautionary tale. It is a reminder of why the banking industry continues to spend billions of dollars lobbying to reverse regulatory reforms that make these concessions necessary. According to a report by the Sunlight Foundation, in the two years since the Dodd-Frank Act was enacted, the Treasury Department, within which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was being formed, had 302 meetings with bank representatives, but only 145 meetings with regulatory reform groups.

The article is also a warning of why the industry cannot be allowed to prevail. Millions of Americans who lost jobs, homes and life savings in the financial crisis have already paid dearly for the right to see the banking industry reformed and its unfair, deceptive and abusive practices curbed.

Jim Wells is president of Wellspring Consulting International, which specializes in designing financial products and services for consumers seeking alternatives to traditional financial institutions.