Check 21 Advocacy Role Continues

In its role as industry advocate, ECCHO gets involved behind the scenes well before issues hit financial services executives' radar. The Check 21 legislation, for example, is a result of work ECCHO became involved in with regulators and other consumer and bank trade groups four years earlier.

For as long as consumer advocates and the media continue to speculate on the effect of Check 21 on bank customers, the issue may be expected to attract at least limited interest from lawmakers. As the last Congress drew to an end in 2004, for example, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill titled The Consumer Checking Account Fairness Act. Among other features, the bill would require the Federal Reserve to reduce hold times, prohibit charging certain overdraft fees during a hold period, require that credits be applied before debits during posting of consumer checks and establish a national minimum level of consumer protection in the area.

ECCHO's work involves helping to fashion a coordinated banking industry perspective and briefing congressional staff to assure they understand the near-term and long-term implications of the legislation and existing consumer protections in place. One requirement of Check 21 is that the Federal Reserve report back to Congress within 30 months on the impact of the legislation.

— Clint Swift