“I appreciate that you want to duck this question. Do you know how much your profits would have been if you had actually waived overdraft fees as the regulators recommended?” Warren asked.
Senator Elizabeth Warren verbally sparred with JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon during a virtual hearing on Wednesday following revelations that the investment bank defied regulators and profited from more than $1.46 billion in consumer overdraft collections during the pandemic. Wall Street banks made record profits in 2020 despite the financial peril of many consumers, leading the six largest banks to testify before Congress. Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo were unable to respond “yes” when asked if they automatically waived customers’ overdraft fees during the pandemic as the Federal Reserve encouraged. According to Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, JP Morgan Chase’s 2020 profits still would have been more than $20 billion if it had followed the guidance of federal regulators. “I appreciate that you want to duck this question. Do you know how much your profits would have been if you had actually waived overdraft fees as the regulators recommended?” Warren asked.
