The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposed rule on credit card late fees Wednesday morning. CUNA has major concerns with the proposal and wrote to the CFPB last week urging it to conduct a Small Business Review Panel as required by statute.

“CUNA strongly opposes this proposal, as any reduction in late fee safe harbors will have a significant negative impact on many small, community-based credit unions,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “Not only would this proposal reduce access to safe and affordable open-end credit, but its broad impact clearly warrants the careful consideration of a Small Business Review Panel, and it’s irresponsible for the bureau to bypass its statutory obligations under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, which was designed to calculate the impact on small entities.”

Specifically, the proposal would lower the safe harbor to $8 (down from $30 for first time and $41 for subsequent late payments), end the automatic annual inflation adjustment, and cap fees at 25% of the minimum payment.

Comments are due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.