Regulation

Financial institutions looking to make up for revenue lost should debit card interchange rates dramatically drop next year could target what increasingly has become a thorn in their side: third party automated clearinghouse debits from their customers’ checking accounts, new research suggests.

Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to pay $9.5 million in a proposed settlement with customers who claim they were improperly charged debit card overdraft fees caused by the bank’s policy of manipulating the sequence of posted transactions.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers' office announced Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit against Denver-based Regent Asset Management Solutions Inc. and CEO Michael Scata for allegedly violating state consumer protection statutes.

Maryland regulators ordered a Kansas collection agency to stop doing business in Maryland after alleging the company repeatedly tried to collect on illegal payday loans - despite warnings to not do so.

Federal prosecutors have indicted six people in a $32 million international scam that victimized 80 attorneys in Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Canada.

The Federal Reserve's forthcoming regulations on debit interchange may settle a long-running debate over whether fraud costs and risks are high enough to justify banks' current fees.

Less than one-fourth of consumers have signed up for debit card overdraft coverage from banks, and 70% say they want to continue to exercise choice in their debit-overdraft options, suggest the results of a survey Consumer Reports publisher Consumers Union released Nov. 16.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood released a statement last week warning consumers about a potential debt collection scam in Mississippi, according to ACA International, the association representing collection agencies and creditors.

The fight over debit card overdraft fees is not over, according to a consortium of consumer-advocacy groups that vows to keep the pressure on regulators to force significant changes in how banks handle such fees.

Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has jurisdiction over a wide range of financial products, Elizabeth Warren is making credit cards her top priority.