Bank Wins Suit Calling Extended Overdraft Fees Unlawful Interest

A BOKF NA subsidiary defeated a proposed class action challenging its extended overdraft fees as a violation of interest rate limits, after a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of the case.

Extended overdraft charges, which are assessed after a bank customer overdraws an account and fails to pay the initial overdraft charge, count as bank fees under guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled 2-1 Friday.

Such fees don’t qualify as an extension of credit requiring interest payments and so aren’t subject to usury ...