Brief Filed in Lawsuit on Durbin Amendment

Every major bank and credit union trade associations filed on Friday a friend-of-the-court brief in support of TCF National Bank’s legal challenge to the Durbin Amendment. TCF’s lawsuit challenges rules being promulgated by the Federal Reserve that would cap debit-card interchange fees at an amount far below issuers’ costs.

The amici make their case that the Federal Reserve is erroneously interpreting the debit card interchange fee provisions of the Durbin Amendment. The Federal Reserve is proposing to implement the Durbin Amendment by imposing price caps that:

1. Are improper under the Durbin Amendment;
2. Raise serious constitutional issues, due to their confiscatory nature; and
3. Threaten substantial harm to consumers, banks, credit unions, the electronic payments system, and the economy as a whole.

The price caps that are currently under consideration would increase banking fees and costs for consumers and deprive significant numbers of Americans (particularly low-income Americans) of access to this reliable, convenient, secure, and efficient method of payment.

The brief was signed by the American Bankers Association, The Clearing House, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, The Financial Services Roundtable, Independent Community Bankers of America, Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America, and National Association of Federal Credit Unions.

Read the brief.
Read the press release.