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‘Too Big to Fail’ Banks Have Unfair Advantage, CFPB Chief Says - BLOOMBERG
BY , Bloomberg News
Rohit Chopra
, Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- The US banking landscape needs to be more of a level playing field, as fewer financial choices means worse outcomes for Americans, according to US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra.
Concentration in banking is worrying because there’s a perception that there’s free, unlimited deposit insurance and that the biggest firms will be bailed out no matter what, Chopra said Friday in a Bloomberg Television interview.
“We’ve got to take out that unfair advantage and let people compete on the merits,” he said.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. stepped in to acquire First Republic Bank last year after depositors pulled billions of dollars from the lender and it collapsed into receivership. Other financial regulators have since proposed even tougher scrutiny of such mega-deals.
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Credit-card late fees, a key source of revenue for banks, is another target for the CFPB. The agency proposed a rule that would cap such fees at $8, but it has been embroiled in litigation.
“The credit-card lobby is fighting us hard, but we are fighting back,” Chopra said. If the rule is shot down, “we have to keep appealing and keep going.”
--With assistance from Romaine Bostick and Alix Steel.
