NCUA Finds No Savings Elsewhere From Overdraft Fees

NCUA headquarters. Credit/NCUA

An NCUA report stated credit unions charging overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees are not using that revenue to reduce the cost of other fees or interest rates.

The Research Note released by the NCUA Thursday showed:

• Credit unions with higher combined overdraft and non-sufficient fund (NSF) fees per member do not seem to have lower fees per member for other services.
• Credit unions with higher combined overdraft and NSF fee revenues do not seem to be using those fees to “subsidize” better interest rates.
• Overdraft and NSF fees make up about 2% to 5% of total revenues for most credit unions in the reporting threshold of $1 billion or more, but some rely much more on them.

“The findings suggest that credit unions are not offsetting this income through reduced fees for other services or lower interest rates,” NCUA Chairman Todd Harper said.