Iowa PIRG Statement

For Release: 13 April 01

Contact: Amber Hard, 515-282-4193

Statement of Amber Hard, Iowa PIRG Advocate

On Recent Lawsuit Filed By Five Banks To Overturn Iowa Surcharge Ban

This recent suit is just another example of big banks seeking to shrink
their customer's bank accounts, and line their own pockets with the profit.
The truth is, ATMs save banks millions over conventional teller transactions
and nationally, generate an estimated $2 billion in surcharge revenue. Iowa
is the only state to protect it's residents from the most common and
egregious fee, the ATM double surcharge. It is outrageous that these big
banks would seek to override state law for their profit. Iowa PIRG applauds
Attorney General Tom Miller for standing up to the big banks last year, and
we anticipate the same tough defense of our consumer protection laws with
this new suit.

The lawsuit over the state's right to enforce ATM surcharge bans raises
important and broad issues over the right of cities and states to enforce
consumer protection laws that protect their citizens against unfair fees or
otherwise regulate national banks, especially when no contrary federal law
exists. In this case, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act clearly grants
states and cities the right to enact stronger laws.

If the banks win, the decision will have a chilling effect on all state and
local efforts to ban other unfair fees, all their efforts to require
national banks to offer affordable bank accounts, all their efforts to
prohibit banks from engaging in predatory payday or mortgage lending, or,
indeed, will chill any state and local efforts to take any action to protect
consumers even when the Congress has failed to do so. Such an outcome is
clearly against Congressional intent, contrary to the National Bank Act and
contrary to sound public policy.

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Amber Hard
Advocate-Iowa PIRG
424 10th St. Suite 209
Des Moines, IA 50309
515-282-4193 (p) 515-282-4196 (f)
iowapirg@pirg.org
www.iowapirg.org