Big Banks Push Back on CFPB Effort to Oversee Customer Service

Big banks told the the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stay away from policing their customer service operations.

The consumer finance watchdog lacks authority to write rules or otherwise review how banks interact with individual customers, the American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, and the Consumer Bankers Association said Monday in a joint comment letter.

The letter is a response to the agency’s June request for information on bank customer service operations. The CFPB is gathering data as part of a broader push to bring back so-called “relationship banking,” with a greater focus on dealing with individual customers, rather ...